Why exactly are religions and cults tax exempt in America?

[DaveinJapan]

Can someone explain the history of this to me?

I really don't get it.

[Deep13]

1. They are supposedly charities.

While many churches etc. do charitable work, most of what they do consists of maintaining religious practices. Frankly, I don't see how paying to maintain ones own social club is charitable.

There may also be an idea that requiring churches etc. to pay taxes is somehow infringing on religious freedom. I don't see it that way. If their property and income is taxed the same as any other business, it is nondiscriminatory while the tax break is an affirmative promotion of religion.

[get the red out]

4. Agree

Taxes aren't anti-freedom, they don't prohibit anything. But the money these churches rake in tax free is definitely anti-freedom, they spend it to fight women's rights and gay rights across the country. Sickening!

[Tesha]

24. I think it's long since time to force religions to split out their 501(c)4 activities from their...

...501(c)3 activities. Money raised to maintain the clubhouse,
recruit new club members, and do political lobbying shouldn't be
treated the same as money that is actually dedicated to true
charitable works.

Tesha

[optimator]

2. america is a lot like afghanistan

we have a bunch of religious psychopaths with a lot of power and corruption at all levels of government

[Sinti]

13. This is correct

The C-Street cult, the third wave, the Mammonites, the followers of Moon... it's scary business up there. Someone needs to have the stones to deal with these fools, before they tear us asunder.

[Initech]

26. Yup, our fundies are no better than theirs.

[rurallib]

3. My understanding was that if they were exempt from taxes, they in turn

would not meddle in affairs of state as they had done in Europe.
That is working out really well so far, donchya think?

[DaveinJapan]

5. Wow, that's quite a statement! nt

[RainDog]

7. kick for your comment

honestly, religions are nothing more than political action groups.

their negative impact on society over the last thirty years far outweighs any benefits.

anything they do as charity work can be done by govt orgs that don't get to hate as a basic right.

[rurallib]

10. Their negative impact goes back much further than 30 years

Like, how long has man been on earth. About that long.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

11. Nothing more than political action groups?

It's clear that you're not speaking from the inside.

Yes, there are some who step over the line and should be penalized, but in all the churches I've ever attended in my 50+ years, the clergy have been absolutely scrupulous about taking political sides.

[undeterred]

15. Wow, that's a broad brush statement.

The negative impact is from the groups on the right, not the left.

The left produces peace activists, social activists, marriage equality activists, food pantries, homeless shelters, and much more.

[mopinko]

22. meh

here in chicago a lot of the clergy have a lot of clout, and get fat contracts to do jack shit. they are definitely lefty, always there at the peace marches, etc. but they also line their own pockets just fine.

[RainDog]

27. everything you mention can be done by non-religious groups

if a religious person believes in the causes you note, there are other venues, beyond religious affiliation that accomplish those same goals.

I am repulsed by the intrusion of religion into govt. what people do as private citizens is one thing. funding religious groups is unconstitutional.

[conscious evolution]

14. That is my understanding also.

[fascisthunter]

23. yup... that was the intent

obviously this government doesn't care too much since both parties have been compromised by religious dogma and now seem comfortable blurring the line between Church and State..

[mmonk]

6. Separation of Church and state.

However, since they are receiving federal funds now and shape policy these days, both in violation of the first amendment's establishment clause and its ideals, they shouldn't be able to be tax exempt any longer.

[rurallib]

9. Sadly, the faith based initiatives were held constitutional a couple

years ago - by the Robert's court of course.

[stray cat]

8. and nonprofits

[Lydia Leftcoast]

12. Yes, if you're going to tax the little neighborhood mainstream church

that serves three free meals a week with no religious requirements, offers free meeting space to community groups, struggles to pay its utility bills, and has a priest who is absolutely scrupulous about not telling people how to vote (a description of the church I attended in Portland), then you'd better tax all non-profits.

[SoCalDem]

16. and most are not even that entertaining.. except for this guy

click the pic to hear him "preach"

[Dr. Strange]

17. They aren't.

However, any organization can apply for tax exempt status under the 501(c)(3):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/501%28c%29#501.28c.29.283.29
(provided they meet the necessary requirements, etc).

[WeDidIt]

18. Thye original argument when exemption was granted was that the churches would care for the poor,...

elderly, and sick thus removing the necessity of caring for the poor, elderly, and sick from the government.

They obviously never kept up their end of the bargain.

[Fire1]

19. Because they're classified as non-profit. n/t

[The Straight Story]

20. Separation of church and state

:)

[barbtries]

21. so the preachers can get rich

without being taxed.

[Bryn]

25. Kenneth Copeland and others like him...

Lifestyles of the Rich and Religious

10/17/2007

"Lifestyles of the Rich and Religious" is the finest ongoing effort in the world in the field of Investigative Cartooning. Of course, it’s the only example in the world of Investigative Cartooning. Each month we comb through our vast archives of rich Christians, searching for the perfect . . . well, searching for the one who deserves . . . uh . . . searching for the one who’s easy to find, and then we subject him or her to the triple whammy of private eye Pete Evans, who puts together the facts and gathers the incriminating photos; drive-in journalist Joe Bob Briggs, who hangs around the outskirts of aforesaid Christian’s vast estate and writes about it; and cartoonist Jim Siergey, who brings this journalistic gospel to life with his fine brush strokes, as he complains loudly about how Pete and Joe Bob expect miracles of penmanship by forcing him to cram in thousands of words of copy. Herewith, everything you probably didn’t want to know about Kenneth Copeland, multi-millionaire preaching czar of Newark, Texas.

http://www.wittenburgdoor.com/lifestyles_copeland

My sister took an early retirement 3 years ago from her job in Texas and moved here in the village in Arkansas with $80,000. She and her husband are moving back to Texas to live with their son and wife because that $80,000 is all gone, her husband lost his job. She was throwing excessive money to her idol, Kenneth Copeland, and is obsessed with him, thinks God told her to. Sad.

[timtom]

28. Separation of church and state?