Over 80% of U.S. Protestants Make Extra Donations During Christmas Season, Study Finds

December 5, 2025

A new online survey by Lifeway Research, shows that American churchgoers are highly likely to make financial as well as material donations during the Christmas season.

Christianity Today reports that between Sept 2-7, the Lifeway study surveyed 1,200 individuals who say they are either Protestant or non-denominational and attended church services at least once per month.

Lifeway says more than 4 in 5 U.S. Protestant churchgoers say they generally give an extra monetary donation during the holiday season, and 76 percent indicated that they donated physical items to at least one cause last year.

More than 84% of respondents said they make at least one additional donation during the holiday season with about half of churchgoers saying they give to their church’s outreach efforts to the needy.

29% of respondents said they provide direct financial to an individual or family they know, while only 13% said they don’t make any additional donations at Christmas time.

According to Christianity Today, the survey also found some gender differences with women being more likely than men to donate to non-Christian nonprofit.

The study also showed that younger groups of adults between 18-49 are more likely to give to a local Christian ministry than older demographics ages 50 and up.

Photo: top, Credit: Facebook/The Salvation Army USA