Mandatory tithing?

[valina]

Hello everybody! i live in Austria since 2 years, but i am italian, grew up with a strong catholic background, where the church was the middle of the village life, i spent 80% of my childhood in the church gardens with all the other kids of my village, then when i grew up i was there to organize activities for the children. i studied to be a nursery teacher, my old kindergarten was run by nuns, and at the university time i decided to study social-pedagogy, so that i can be working in helping people. i am not a bad person, i actually have a strong sense for justice and what is wrong and what is right. what i learnt from my old church-school was that we have a chance to decide to do right and to do wrong, to follow what God teaches us or not, nobody is forced to do anything.

Here is what lately makes me think a lot: i got a letter from the catholic church of austria, where tells me to pay the cathlolic-church- fees. i can’t decide how much i want to give them (like in church, as my personal donation), i have to send them the copy of my job-contract so that they can calculate how much i HAVE TO give them.
An average person have to pay more than 100€ a year.

i am astonished of this. its not that i am greedy and i dont want to pay that money, i defenetely spend about the same going every week in church or in church activities, but i don’t like this sort of “membership fee” that we are forced to pay in order to be member. it just doesnt sound right.
specially because my life-history. in Italy is not like that, we breath cristianity everywhere, we are never forced to give anything, we do anyways. here i feel like in a sect, where nothing is given back.

 

[chotock]

Never heard of a membership fee.

It sounds like perhaps they are being a bit too aggressive in their tithing campaign.

 

[puzzleannie]

the practice may vary from country to country, especially in heavily Catholic countries where at least formerly Church schools and institutions were supported by the government, with the contributions of all taxpayers, and a Church tithe was part of your taxes. In fact who would get that tithe was a huge factor in the politics of such countries during the Protestant Reformation.

If your church sent you a note about contributions I would look carefully again at the wording to see if it is a tithing campaign, which is legit, or a demand to pay for participating in Mass and sacraments, which is an abuse.

 

[maurin]

the practice may vary from country to country, especially in heavily Catholic countries where at least formerly Church schools and institutions were supported by the government, with the contributions of all taxpayers, and a Church tithe was part of your taxes. In fact who would get that tithe was a huge factor in the politics of such countries during the Protestant Reformation.

If your church sent you a note about contributions I would look carefully again at the wording to see if it is a tithing campaign, which is legit, or a demand to pay for participating in Mass and sacraments, which is an abuse.

mia sorella italiana,

Puzzleannie gave you a good a answer. Traditionally in the Catholic Countries there were no divisions between Church and State, and taxes were levied and distributed to the Churches by the governments. In pre-WWII Germany, one had to declare a Church affiliation in order for one’s taxes to be distributed to the proper Church.

 

[didymus]

the practice may vary from country to country, especially in heavily Catholic countries where at least formerly Church schools and institutions were supported by the government, with the contributions of all taxpayers, and a Church tithe was part of your taxes. In fact who would get that tithe was a huge factor in the politics of such countries during the Protestant Reformation.

If your church sent you a note about contributions I would look carefully again at the wording to see if it is a tithing campaign, which is legit, or a demand to pay for participating in Mass and sacraments, which is an abuse.

In Germany there is a withholding payroll “tax” on Catholics to support the Church under the terms of the Reichsknonkordat (renewed after the Federal Republic of Germany was founded), maybe there’s a similar deal in Austria?

In fact, since it was originally the Reich concordat, negotiated with Hitler, it probably did include Austria after the Anschluss. Maybe they continued it after Austria was reunified.