Survey: Faith doesn’t determine spending habits for Christmas
By Hannah Elliott
Dec 15, 2006

DALLAS -- Christians won’t spend as much money this Christmas as their non-religious counterparts, but the Christian retail industry continues to expand exponentially, according to recent reports.

Researchers who conducted a recent Gallup Poll said no relationship exists between “one's depth of religious commitment and one's Christmas budget.” The results are surprising in light of the fact that Christmas is one of the holiest days on the Christian calendar.

“In fact, less religious Americans may spend more on Christmas gifts than do active practitioners,” the Nov. 9 report said.

According to the survey, people who seldom or never attend a place of worship said they will spend an estimated average of $853 on gifts this year, compared with roughly $800 for those who worship either weekly or nearly weekly.

But Christmastime restraint on the part of Christians hasn’t hurt the bottom line in the Christian retail industry, which makes $4.5 billion annually. Experts say the market for Christian books, trinkets and décor will grow to $9.5 billion by 2010. the rest