The $1.7 Million Cost of Tithing: Why Churches Target Young Earners

A Reddit post from a young person trapped in a joint bank account with tithing-obsessed parents sparked this deep dive into the true cost of religious giving. Using Bureau of Labor Statistics income data and conservative investment assumptions, I calculated the lifetime financial impact of tithing 10% of your income from age 25 to retirement at 65.

The findings are devastating: $285,035 given to the church versus $1,694,520 in a retirement portfolio. The opportunity cost is over $1.4 MILLIOMN. This episode examines the history of the 10% tithe, explains why it's not actually biblical in the way most people think, and breaks down why giving when you're young costs exponentially more than giving later in life. I also offer practical alternatives for people who want to be generous without sacrificing their financial futures. This is math, not theology—and the numbers don't lie.

https://atheistville.com/2026/02/22/the-1-7-million-question-nobody-at-church-will-answer/

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Transcript

Mike Smithgall 0:00

A young person just got their first real paycheck, and they're excited, they've worked hard for this money, but there's a problem. The paycheck goes directly into a joint account with their father, and their parents are about to tithe 10% of it to their mega church. The young person doesn't want to give that money to the church. They don't even believe anymore, but they can't say that out loud because it's not an easy conversation to have. So they're asking strangers on Reddit how to hide the money from their own parents. This is the reality of tithing in 2026. And what this young person doesn't know yet, what almost nobody knows, is that this isn't just about one paycheck. That first 10% their parents are about to hand over. By the time this person reaches retirement age, that single decision will have cost them over one and a half million dollars. I'm not exaggerating. I did the math. And what I found should make every person who's ever written a tithe check absolutely furious. Thanks for tuning in. I'm Mike Smithgall, the unelected mayor of Atheistville, and this is today's mic drop. So I saw a post on the ex-Christian subreddit a few weeks ago, and I haven't really been able to stop thinking about it ever since. I actually mentioned it on my most recent Breakfast with a Heathen episode because it hit me that hard. A young person, probably in their, I guess their late teens or maybe early 20s, just got their very first paycheck and they have a joint account with their father. And the parents are prosperity gospel fanatics at a megachurch. And the parents are insisting on tithing 10% of that kid's income. And the young person is posting and asking for advice. How do I get out of this? How can I take cash out and pretend that I tithe? Can I convince them to give it somewhere else? And then this part hit me. They said that I am concerned that if I do not comply, my dad has the ability to forcefully transfer money out of my account. The fact that they're worried about that is really upsetting. And despite being presented as theology, this is actually financial abuse wrapped up in scripture. And the worst part, this young person has no idea how much this is actually going to cost them. Nobody does. Because when you're 22 and you hear give 10%, you think you're sacrificing a night out or a new pair of shoes or whatever the hell you're doing. You don't realize you are sacrificing your entire financial future. Now, before we get to the math, let's talk about where this 10% idea even comes from. Because it's not exactly what most people think. The concept of tithing 10% shows up in the Old Testament. It was an agricultural tax for ancient Israel. You gave a tenth of your crops and livestock to support the Levitical priesthood and the temple system. It wasn't optional and it wasn't about your personal relationship with God. It was a civic obligation and a theocratic society. Now, fast forward to the New Testament. And you know what Jesus said about tithing 10% of your income? Nothing. Paul? Nothing. The early church? They don't mention it. What they talk about is voluntary giving, generosity, supporting the community, but there's no mandated percentage. The modern 10% tithe as we know it today was popularized more in the early 20th century and exploded with the rise of these megachurches and the prosperity gospel. It's not ancient, it's not biblical in the way that most people think. It's a fundraising strategy that worked so well that it became doctrine. And here's the thing: I am not here to tell you whether you should or shouldn't give money to a church. That is absolutely your business. What I'm here to do is make sure that you understand what you're actually giving away. Because, again, most people don't. So here's what I do want you to know. Most people are not former financial advisors like me. Most people don't have an MBA like me. So when they hear give 10%, they think it's a small sacrifice. They think it's manageable. They think it's just money that they would have spent on something frivolous, anyways. So it's it's presented in a way that sounds very, very easy. They have no idea that they're forfeiting millions of dollars. Like I do for too many things, I built a spreadsheet. I wanted to see what actually happens when you tithe 10% of your income from age 25 to age 65, versus investing that same 10% in a standard SP 500 index fund. And I didn't want to cherry pick numbers or make unrealistic assumptions. So I used the Bureau of Labor Statistics data, the actual wage growth rates that they documented in a 40-year study of American workers. So I started with someone making about$45,000 at age 25. That is a reasonable starting salary for someone entering the workforce after college. And then I applied the actual average income growth rates, the BLS found, which is 3.3% annual growth in your late 20s and early 30s as you gain experience, slowing to about 1.9 in your late 30s and early 40s as you kind of move into those senior roles. And then it stays nearly flat at just 0.1% in your 40s and mid-50s as you reach your peak earning years. And finally, it's zero growth from about 56 to uh 65 as you coast into retirement. So this isn't optimistic. This isn't a modeling some sort of superstar career. This is literally what happens to the average American working worker according to the government's own data. So here's what I found. If you follow this completely average career path and you tithe 10% annually, by the time you're 65, you have given the church$285,000 in cash. And that is a lot of money. That is a huge down payment on a house in most of the country, or it's actually paying off the mortgage in many areas. And here is where it should make your blood boil. If you had invested that same money, those same exact dollars at the same 10%, and you just put it into a basic SP 500 index fund, you would have$1,694,520 in your portfolio. Basically$1.7 million. The opportunity cost of tithing isn't$285,000. It's$1.4 million in lost wealth. And that is a conservative average. If you're someone who makes better career moves, who job hops strategically, who gets promoted, who does better than average, the numbers get even worse. But we don't even need to go there. The average case is devastating enough as it is. All right, so here's the cruelest irony in all of this. The church wants your money when you're young. That's when they push the hardest. That's when they tell you to be faithful with your first fruits. But youth is exactly when tithing costs you the most. A dollar tithe at age 25 costs you about$45 in retirement wealth. Think about that. A dollar tithe at age 55 costs you about$2.60. Same percentage, wildly different impact because the time that your money can grow is way lower when you're saying my age versus a young person. So let's put that into some concrete terms. If you tithe$4,500 at age 25, which again is about 10% of that starting$45,000 salary, that single year's tithe will cost you over$200,000 by the time you're 65. If you tithe$7,800 at age 55, that year costs you only about$20,000. So the young person is sacrificing 10 times more future wealth by giving far less cash. And churches know this. They might not say it out loud, but they know that getting people locked into tithing early creates a lifetime of giving. And they know that young people don't have financial advisors. They're not going to run the spreadsheets. They don't see the compounding cost. They just see 10% and think, okay, well, that's a small ask. But it's not small. It's the difference between financial independence and working until you die. So let's zoom out for a second and talk about what's actually happening here at the macro level. Tithing isn't charity in the way that most people think of it. When you give to a local food bank or a homeless shelter, that money goes directly to the people in need. When you tithe to a church, especially a megachurch, that money goes to pay salaries, maintain buildings, fund marketing campaigns, create big sound systems. It grows the institution. And that institution is tax exempt. The church pays no property taxes, no income taxes, no capital gains tax. They take your post-tax dollars and they accumulate wealth completely untaxed. Meanwhile, you're giving away the only math guaranteed path to financial freedom. The SP 500 had returned an average of about 10% annually over a century. It's not a gamble, it's compound interest. It's time doing the work for you. And the earlier you start, the more powerful it becomes. But the church takes that 10% from you when you're 25 and when you're 30 and when you're 35, exactly when compounding could be working the hardest for you. So by the time you hit your 50s and 60s and you're starting to freak out and panic about retirement, the damage is already done. You can't get those years back. You can't undo the lost compounding. The church ends up with billions in real estate and tax-free assets. You end up with$285,000 less in cash and$1.4 million less in portfolio value. You end up working into your 70s. So here's my advice. And I know this is going to make some people mad, but I don't care. It's your money. You earned it. You should do exactly what you want. But you should be informed. If you want to support the church, fine, but don't do it when you're young and broke. Don't do it when every dollar you invest could turn into$45 by retirement. Pay yourself first. Build your portfolio, secure your future, and then if you still feel called to give, leave money to the church in your will. You know who fills pews at most churches? Old people. You know what old people have? Real estate, retirement accounts, estates. If churches want money, they can wait until you're financially secure. They can wait until you've built wealth. They can have a piece of your estate when you're gone. But they shouldn't get 10% of your labor when you're 25. And if you absolutely must give while you're young, here's what you do: give 10% to yourself first. Put 10% in your retirement account. Then if there's anything left over and you still want to tithe, go ahead. But you come first. Your family comes first. Your future comes first. The church has been around for 2,000 years. It'll be fine without your money. But you, you get one shot at building financial independence. Don't give that away for a tax-exempt institution that'll forget your name the day you stop writing checks. All right, that's my two cents, unblessed and unfiltered, agree or disagree. That's what I got for you, dude. When it's all said and done, this episode comes down to one idea. Your money is yours. The institutions that ask for it will always tell you it's a small sacrifice, a faithful act, a blessing in disguise. But the math doesn't lie. 10% of your income from 25 to 65 isn't a tithe. It's a$1.7 million transfer of wealth from your future to their present. What matters here is perspective. You don't have to feel guilty for keeping your own money. You don't have to feel selfish for building security for yourself and your family. And you're not less moral because you choose compounding interest over a collection plate. Those are the messages churches want you to believe because the messages keep the money flowing. But you get to decide what your money does. And the earlier you make that decision, the more your future self will thank you. This change doesn't happen all at once. It plays out over time through people, institutions, and generations. But every person who runs the math, who sees the real cost, who chooses their own financial future, that's one less person funding the machine. All right, I'm Mike Smith Gall. Thanks for tuning in, and I'll catch you on the next one.