Posted on 05/18/2010 7:12:20 AM PDT by Colofornian
The popular image of a church is that of a selfless organization unconcerned with financial gain. It is reflected in the fact that churches receive tax-exempt status from federal and state governments. And without question, most churches do engage in substantial charity work.
But that doesn’t mean that churches are not, at least partially, money-making enterprises. Though official records are scarce, the world’s major churches are all believed to collect annual revenues in excess of several billion dollars. Like any other institution, these churches work hard to earn the highest possible return on their investments.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Otherwise known as the Mormon church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has long been one of the world’s wealthiest religious groups.
Like most major churches, the exact tally of LDS assets is difficult to come by. In July 2007, the Salt Lake Tribune covered an Oregon Supreme Court ruling ordering the church to publicize its financials in connection with a lawsuit from an alleged abuse victim, noting that it had not disclosed such information since 1959. In 1997, Time Magazine found that current LDS assets totaled $30 billion. If LDS were a corporation, Time continued, its estimated $5.9 billion in annual revenues would have placed it midway through the Fortune 500.
The LDS church has taken ambitious strides to preserve and grow its wealth over the years. Beneficial Financial Group, a $3.1 billion insurance company with annual revenues exceeding $600 million, is wholly owned by the church. LDS also owns the Deseret Morning News , Utah’s second-largest newspaper. Bonneville International Corporation, which controls over two dozen top radio stations across six states, is also wholly owned by LDS through Deseret Management Corporation , the church’s for-profit arm. Another $6 billion of church money was said by Time to be tied up in “unspecified investments.” All of these activities, it should be noted, are categorized as “unrelated business income” and subject to state and federal taxes.
Roman Catholic Church
In 2005, MSNBC reported that the Roman Catholic Church owned more real estate globally than any other organization or individual on earth. Interestingly, a surprising amount of this land does not produce income for the church. Gabriel Kahn, a Rome Correspondent for the Wall Street Journal, told MSNBC that the church’s land assets “are not liquid and they can’t be put to use for the Catholic Church in the way they could be for, say, a corporation.”
But just five years earlier, the church’s own financial statements told a different story. In 2001, an official report stated that the church’s real estate activities in fiscal year 2000 produced $81.7 billion in revenue on $51.8 billion in expenses: a nearly $30 billion profit.
Outside of real estate, MSNBC suggests that the Catholic church maintains a portfolio of conservative investments. In 2006, the Boston Globe revealed that the church turned a profit of roughly $55 million on a portfolio heavily concentrated in government bonds. The Vatican’s TV and publishing operations, too, were said to have produced an unspecified surplus.
Of course, the bulk of the Catholic Church’s yearly income continues to come in the form of donations. The Boston Globe found that “contributions from worldwide dioceses” totaled $92.9 million in 2005, while individual donations made directly to the Pope neared $60 million.
In recent years, the Vatican has suffered from having a portfolio biased toward dollar-denominated investments. The UK’s Guardian found that in 2008 the church suffered its first loss in four years, owing to the decline of the dollar relative to the stronger Euro.
Evangelical Lutheran Church
The Evangelical Lutheran Church is less guarded than either the Catholic Church or Church of Latter-Day saints, releasing detailed yearly financial reports on its website .
In fiscal year 2009, the church claims to have earned $1,698,336 from “investment income”, $2,238,629 from “bequests and trusts” and another $1,003,420 in rental income. The same report lists a separate column of “temporarily restricted” revenues, on which another $1,625,000 in investment income is reported.
While the exact nature of these investments are not specified in the report, the church appears to derive substantial income from its Mission Investment Fund .
Through the Mission Investment Fund, the ELCA has made “nearly 800 active loans totaling over $475 million” to affiliated ministries located in the United States, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. The purpose of loan proceeds is to help these organizations buy land, expand operations or in some way improve the Lutheran experience of nearby worshipers.
At time of writing, the Mission Investment Fund is offering 3.25% interest on four year, fixed-rate CDs, as well as 5.00% on one year, adjustable-rate mortgages. Members of the church are also encouraged to buy high-yield CDs, contribute to Health Savings Accounts, and use checking and savings accounts administered by the ECLA.
In total, the church claims that a significant number of “schools, colleges, universities, social ministry organizations and outdoor ministries” are invested in the Mission Investment Fund.
The Takeaway Despite its un-businesslike nature, a church requires capital to carry outs its operations just as any other organization. In 2005, MSNBC’s Nanette Hansen even wondered if Pope Benedict XVI would “have to be a money manager as well as a spiritual leader.”
Regardless of the use to which church investment proceeds are ultimately put, there is no denying the financial clout that their activities provide them. Both the donations they take in and the investment income they earn help make the world’s major churches serious financial players.
Well, this is why it's called LDS, Inc.
From the article: ...individual donations made directly to the Pope neared $60 million.
Hmm...(I'd like for our Roman Catholic friends to please explain this...We Protestants would like to know why a religious leader is getting almost $60 million in individual contributions from parishioners...I'm sure it's used well...but couldn't this -- for some future Pope -- become a tremendous potential source of either mixed motives for serving or even corruption?)
The bills are paid, we own our property, eat pretty good sometimes ..... ok, often ..... and we grow comfortably.
Trinity Church (Episcopal) located at B’way & Wall is one of the largest land owners in New York City.
As the Catholic church is actually the government of an independent state (the vatican) would its income be considered the GDP of the vatican?... and talk about big government! the vatican is nothing but ‘government’ LOL.
Wow! imagine the soul-winning our church could do with funds like that!
Maybe...
But the mormon corporastion is one of the biggest private land owners in the country..
really? that explains the revenue stream...
I was once repairing a work station at a NYC agency (real estate?) and to test my repair, I sdtarted surfing through the net this station was connected to. This was long before the www. I was absolutely amazed at their holdings in the financial district alone.
Actually the size of their coffers was one the main thrusts for mormon “soul winning” 30 years ago...
They would pester me constantly with “God loves us and we are the twoo “church” cause we took in more money than your church last year”
They knew the income of every church in town and had the printed tallies to check right there at your door..
The sad thing is...the mormon missionaries seemed to believe that astronomical wealth was an indication of the approval of their mormon god...
While the Church employs an independent auditing department which provides an annual report to the Church[1], it has not published full financial reports since 1959.
The Council was established by church founder Joseph Smith, Jr. on 8 July 1838.[2] As of April 2009, the members of the Council are:
It is the money donated directly to the Papacy as an institution within the Church, as opposed to money donated directly to one's local bishop.
The money goes to programs that are run on a churchwide basis - most prominently the missions and the foreign service.
This is different from money that is donated for the upkeep of one's local parish or the money donated for the local diocesan schools, hospitals, seminaries, relief programs etc.
Our Church invests in people, we give away everything we get... gave away our last building when we moved to the new one.
“...all we do is pay bills, make repairs and improvements ... and go soul winning.”
Same as ours, basically, except that our church “invests” most of our money in strong support of missionaries. Churches “investing” money to turn a profit... seems crass on a certain level.
It is just astounding to me that people think there will be any pleasure derived by giving 60 million to the Pope. And why do the Mormons need so many buildings? I feel sorry for all my friends and relatives that have bought into the big myth.
One can get warm fuzzy feelings by coming to Mount Carmel and volunteering for our day camps for People With Special Needs
As a non profit public charity all donations are tax deductible and we share our tax returns for any donor that requests it.
So Donate Here
We have to support the Vatican. I can only tell you from the parish level. We are taxed by the diocese for money to run their programs, seminarian education, chancellors, all kinds of things that we need as Catholics. Dioceses pass some portion of that money up the pipeline and eventually some of it gets to the Vatican.
We also have specific 2nd collections for the Vatican which has to support itself too and, unfortunately, often runs a deficit.
As far as the real estate, it isn’t like the Catholic Church owns office buildings and retail stores, they own churches, parish halls and rectories. It does add up in worth but it is in use for Catholics and for the most part, there is no income made from real estate holdings rather like your home. You have costs associated with it and though you could sell it in a pinch you would then have to find another place to live.
the Catholic Church ...owns churches, parish halls and rectories. It does add up in worth but it is in use for Catholics
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Among those “churches, parish halls and rectories” that the Catholic church owns, is there any that the regular Catholic members cannot go into because they havent paid 10% of their gross income ???
Plus it has all that treasure hidden beneath its burial vaults.
Yeah .. I forgot about that ... I can’t remember the exact number, but I think we’re supporting something like 20 or 30 missionaries
Channel Nicholas Cage much ???
Isnt it odd that with all those BILLIONS the mormon corporation doesnt support even ONE of their 53,000 mormon missionary/salesmen...
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