Let’s Talk About Money : How Breaking Money Silence In The American Church Unlocks Greater Christian Financial Generosity

Let’s Talk About Money : How Breaking Money Silence In The American Church Unlocks Greater Christian Financial Generosity

By Ateek, Sari Naim (2020) -- The aim of this project thesis is to advance the research in the field of Christian charitable giving to the church in America. Prior studies in the field identify that American Christians have the capacity to give more, but choose to spend the majority of their discretionary income on consumer goods. Virtually absent from the research, however, are measured interventions that address this reality. This project thesis makes a connection between the cultural aversion to discussing money (money taboo) and the continuation of the consumer mindset. To that end, the thesis asks, does the simple act of examining one’s own relationship to money, spending, and generosity, in conversation with others in church, lead to greater intentionality with, and capacity for, charitable giving? The purpose is to provide research based evidence for the theological and practical importance of discussing money in church. Using a Christian Formation approach in which eighteen individuals come together to engage in honest money conversations, this thesis uncovers a positive causal relationship between discussing money in the context of a faith community, and increased financial generosity to the church. The project also shows that discussing money in this way lessens the perceived distance between money and spirituality, decreases personal financial stress, and leads to greater awareness with money and spending. The significance of this study is that it informs our theological and sociological understanding of the importance of human connection to the development of greater financial maturity and generosity.

Ateek, Sari Naim

Virginia Theological Seminary

November 22, 2019

Copyright © 2020, Sari Naim Ateek.

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Project thesis.