Actually, a fair comparison would be to see 2000-2006. I would be willing to make a pretty significant wager that it was 12-15% during each of those years too. For a guy like Romney, >10% to his church is a given each year. He also has a charity affiliated with his family that I'm sure he donates to each year. Might there be a couple years in there where he didn't make any money? Perhaps, but I'm convinced that he will always show charitable contributions in excess of 10% of his income. This contrasts very sharply with most other politicians who generally give 1-2% until the year before running for president.
Something that those unfamiliar with the Mormons also don't usually know is that while they give 10% each year as a tithe, they also have an extensive welfare program. Mormons skip a day's worth of meals on the first Sunday of each month and make a voluntary donation to this program of at least the equivalent of the value of the skipped meals. Wealthy families like Romney's usually make much larger donations, often thousands of dollars each month. Unlike the tithe money, these once a month donations go directly toward community welfare like food, shelter, and clothing.
I am aware of this, and personally I admire it. I am surrounded by Mormon families, and live only a stone's throw from a temple. When I was in the service, during my first experience with the 'magic' underwear and all that, I thought it was different, but not a big deal. I learned back then about their missionary work as well. Sure, the may trying to spread the word of their religion, but not much different than any other religious group. The 'internal' welfare programs sort of set a good example, IMO. I'm not saying we should 'welfare' everyone, my point is that if other groups, many who already do, can and should do something similar. c
I went to a catholic school for a couple years, among many schools I attended while i was growing up, and while I thought the religious stuff was goofy, i always found them to be good people, they were always doing stuff to try to help out in the community, and teaching concepts like "love thy fellow human being." I also lived with a friend of mine whose dad was a leader in the local mosque when my parents split up in highschool, and once again, he was a very caring, and genuinely loving human being. This is why i have always found it strange that there is such a vendetta from the left against organised religion. When you look at organised religion, i think that alot more of them are trying to do good as opposed to trying to do bad, every time i have been involved in charitable work there is an entire crew of deeply religious people there, so i dont get what the problem is, and both you and Epic are 100% correct in that these religious/charitable groups do a much better job of taking care of people who need help, as they actually have the ability to work one on one with people, as opposed to the government who just cuts a cheque, and expects things to fix themselves.
Tax and charitable giving are not unrelated. If everyone gave 10%+ of their income to charity, there would be no need for the vast majority of the government welfare programs. That is the exact argument of the traditional republican party. Private sector handles these things better than the public sector. Keep taxes very low and encourage charitable giving as much as possible. Romney is running in the GOP. This is at the core of their politics, yet he is being demonized for it.
Yes, typically the organized religious groups have job placement and training programs. Many of the larger religious organizations are the first to show up on the scene when there is a disaster of some sort and they provide far more assistance than FEMA ever did.