But 76 million adults never attend church according to the Barna Group

Evangelical Protestants are the happiest people in America. Or at least that's what they say.  Evangelicals are 26 percent more likely to describe themselves as "very happy" than Americans as a whole, according to a Pew Research Center survey released last month.

• Almost half—43 percent—of evangelical Protestants described themselves that way, compared to only 34 percent of Americans.
• As a whole, evangelicals are 30 percent happier than mainline Protestants. In fact, of Protestants who do not attend church at least weekly, mainline Protestants are more likely than evangelicals to say they are very happy.

• Just a third (34%) of adults in this country say they're very happy, according to the latest Pew Research Center survey. Another half say they are pretty happy and 15% consider themselves not too happy. 

Research results show most Protestant ministers believe Christians are supposed to tithe – or give 10 percent of their income – to their local church.  Unfortunately for these ministers and churches, most people in the pews of the local church do not agree with them.

• In the study, 56 percent of all clergy say Christians are under a biblical mandate to tithe 10 percent of their income to the local church. 
• Among the people who attend Protestant churches, only 36 percent feel there is a biblical command to tithe 10 percent to their local church.

Ron Sellers, president of Ellison Research, noted the irony in some of the findings.  “What’s really sad is that six out of ten churchgoers told us they believe the Bible commands them to tithe 10 percent or more of their incomes, yet other studies have consistently shown that under one out of ten actually do that,” Sellers said.  “In other words, at least half of all Protestants are clear on what they believe they’re supposed to be giving, but consistently don’t give it.”

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