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Not to put down any religion, but rather to explain some history, the original tithe goes back to the bible. One of the jewish laws is that farmers set aside 10% of their crops for the poor. It's called gleaning. Independent farmers still practice it today. People in the crafts and other professions would give 10% of their income for the same reason, but this was overseen by the elders of the temple to be used for upkeep of the temple and helping the poor.
Early traveling Christian disciples would travel from town to town preaching the word of G-D and take up a small collection to help with their meager needs.
It's the Holy See that bastardized this tradition. Since many of the early pope bought their way into the papacy, it was a way for them to make money (Early popes weren't as pious as they are today) and to pay for all the wealthy trappings of the church. They mostly blackmailed the rich and bleed the poor dry without giving much back to the needy.
I could go on for ever on church and other denominational's history, but I've said enough and don't mean to offend anyone. I think you get the gist of what I'm trying to get across.