All institutional systems must contain a mechanism of capital accumulation to sustain themselves.
While I am far from a scholar on this, here are a few to mention.
Islam: Zakat
Islamic communities sustain themselves through Zakat, giving 2.5% (or ¼0) of a Muslim’s total savings and wealth. Unlike tithing, zakat is a tax on the stock (total wealth) rather than the flow (annual income). Zakat only “triggers” above a minimum amount, called nisab. Unlike tithing, it seems like zakat can be directed more generally, rather than to only the religious institution (zakat should be “paid to the poor, the needy, Zakat collectors, those sympathetic to Islam, to free from slavery, for debt relief, in the cause of Allah and to benefit the stranded traveler”). Like tithing, there is variance across sects: “Shias, unlike Sunnis, traditionally regarded zakat as a private and voluntary decision, and they give zakat to imam-sponsored rather than state-sponsored collectors”. And like tithing, there is variance on how nations “legalize” tithing: “in most Muslim-majority countries, zakat contributions are voluntary, while in a handful (Libya, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and Yemen), zakat is mandated and collected by the state.”
Buddhism and Hinduism: Dāna
Buddhist and Hindu communities sustain themselves through Dāna, the “practice of cultivating generosity.” This one seems different from tithing and zakat in that it is more about the mindset, and it doesn’t specify amounts (10% or 2.5%). In Hinduism, the giving seems to be directed more locally: “while dāna is typically given to one person or family, Hinduism also discusses charity or giving aimed at public benefit, sometimes called utsarga.” But in Buddhism, dāna is mostly given to monks: “Dāna is a formal religious act is directed specifically to a monastic or spiritually-developed person.” Based on my little understand, dāna seems “less powerful” than tithing and zakat. How do Buddhist and Hindu temples sustain themselves without a more aggressive version of capital accumulation?
Tithes in Judaism:
The tithe is specifically mentioned in the Books of Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The tithe system was organized in a seven-year cycle, the seventh-year corresponding to the Shemittah-cycle in which year tithes were broken-off, and in every third and sixth-year of this cycle the Second tithe replaced with the Poor man’s tithe. These tithes were akin to taxes for the people of Israel and were mandatory, not optional giving. This tithe was distributed locally “within thy gates” (Deuteronomy 14:28) to support the Levites and assist the poor. Every year, Bikkurim, Terumah, Ma’aser Rishon and Terumat Ma’aser were separated from the grain, wine and oil (Deuteronomy 14:22). Initially, the commandment to separate tithes from one’s produce only applied when the entire nation of Israel had settled in the Land of Israel.[1] The Returnees from the Babylonian exile who had resettled the country were a Jewish minority, and who, although they were not obligated to tithe their produce, put themselves under a voluntary bind to do so, and which practice became obligatory upon all.[2]
The first record of tithing in the Bible appears in Genesis 14:20, where Abraham gave tithe to Melchizedek.