RELATIONSHIP OF PARISH CHARACTERISTICS TO SUNDAY GIVING AMONG CATHOLICS IN THE ARCHDIOCESE OF CINCINNATI

Descriptive statistics on household Sunday giving are presented for th e 247 parishes of the Cincinnati Archdiocese. Regression analysis is u sed to determine the best predictors of Sunday giving for each of four parish geographic types: large city, suburban, small city, and rural. The most important predictor is participation (number of attenders di vided by the number of registered households), which enters into the r egression equations of all four geographic types. The number of regist ered households is important among parishes in small cities and rural areas, where parishioners of smaller parishes probably have greater kn owledge of parish needs and a greater sense of responsibility for the parish welfare. Also important is parish participation in a giving pro gram, which makes a significant difference in all types except suburba n parishes.