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Message: <blockquote data-quote="DreadPirateMurphy" data-source="post: 2724103" data-attributes="member: 20715">Actually, churches usually don't have any trouble keeping in business as long as they can attract followers.Expected tithes, IIRC, were usually set to 10% of your income at a minimum.  That included nobles and wealthy merchants.One of the 1st season episodes of Black Adder dealt with another means of earning funds for the church -- members would bequeth money and lands to the church in wills.Crafts were just an example -- in many settings, it wouldn't be unusual for the church to collect rents, farm lands, or even own banks or run guilds.As for government "grants," at a minimum, many religious lands and buildings would be exempt from taxation.  The government could also be expected to subsidize religious holidays, pilgrimages, crusades, etc.  In some cases, there is an official state religion that is treated as a branch of the government.  In other cases, the religion IS the government.Having said all this, many churches have charged additional fees for specific purposes.  The Catholic church used to sell indulgences.  My limited understanding is that Scientology has a set of practices that involve defined fees and/or contributions.  It is possible that you could group spell-casting in that category.It also seems likely, however, that different faiths would have different setups.  In a fantasy setting, you also have direct deity involvement (at least for the good deities) that limit excesses on the part of church officials.  One would expect deities like Lathander or Pelor to be more generous than, say, Erythnul or Talos.</blockquote>

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