Time To Start Taxing Churches?
By Justin Gardner | Related entries in 2008 Election, Law, ReligionA group of right-leaning churches want to officially challenge the ban on political endorsements at the pulpit, and I say go right ahead. And then, when right-leaning Supreme Court overturns the ban, I hope churches are taxed just like any other institution. Fair?
CHICAGO — Declaring that clergy have a constitutional right to endorse political candidates from their pulpits, the socially conservative Alliance Defense Fund is recruiting several dozen pastors to do just that on Sept. 28, in defiance of Internal Revenue Service rules.The effort by the Arizona-based legal consortium is designed to trigger an IRS investigation that ADF lawyers would then challenge in federal court. The ultimate goal is to persuade the U.S. Supreme Court to throw out a 54-year-old ban on political endorsements by tax-exempt houses of worship.
“For so long, there has been this cloud of intimidation over the church,” ADF attorney Erik Stanley said. “It is the job of the pastors of America to debate the proper role of church in society. It’s not for the government to mandate the role of church in society.”
Obviously other church organizations see the peril in this and are speaking out about the ADF’s move, but, again, I say let them challenge the separation of church and state. Because I’d like to see how the SCOTUS would rule on this. And then I’d like to see them square a decision in favor of the ADF with not taxing churches.
Simply put, you can’t have it both ways folks.
More as it develops…
This entry was posted on Monday, September 8th, 2008 and is filed under 2008 Election, Law, Religion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
September 8th, 2008 at 2:41 pm
As someone who regularly attends a right-leaning church, I sincerely hope that cooler heads prevail, and politics stay as far away from the pulpit as we can possibly keep them.
September 8th, 2008 at 4:28 pm
The tax exemption for churches has been hanging by a thread ever since Regan v. Taxation with Representation (1983), when SCOTUS held 8-3 that tax exemption was equivalent to a tax subsidy.
Prior to that, the courts had always ruled it was not a subsidy because the exemption did not transfer part of its revenue to churches but was abstaining from demands that the church supported the state.
That all changed in 1983, though, and it’s amazing things have stayed status quo since. The only thing keeping government from looking at the church’s pocketbook is the notion of a separation of church and state–a notion that will crumble completely if churches keep pushing the boundard
September 8th, 2008 at 5:35 pm
Wishful secularist thinking. ADF has nothing to lose by challenging this, because I can count on one hand the number of times the IRS has gone after the tax exempt status of Church’s and that’s for good reason. The day the IRS choose to grow teeth in this regard, you will see a revolt like none other and the law will be changed. The IRS is evil, but their not stupid.
But forget about all that. gerryF – What is to keep me from forming a 501(c)(4) for my local perish and simply “allocating” political speech to that organization? That is a really good idea I’m going to have to look into. I’ll keep you posted. After all, the real issue is not the tax exempt status of the organization, but the deduction for contributions.
September 8th, 2008 at 6:08 pm
While I prefer my spiritual time to be politics-free, seems like an interesting First Amendment issue. If the church and state are supposed to be separate, doesn’t the current taxation law create a de facto ban on political speech? Should be interesting….
September 8th, 2008 at 8:50 pm
Be careful what you wish for. Do you really want to tax something like the catholic church? The largest organization in the world might just want to be represented if they become taxpayers. How would you like the weight of the Pope himself endorsing a candidate by name, funding his campaign, and using every sunday like a big get-out-the-vote rally, handing out voter registration forms after the liturgy is over.
I’d rather they send the IRS down onto these congregationalists then change the tax exempt status of religious organizations generally.
November 30th, 2008 at 5:27 pm
I can imagine that at one point in time, churches were more centered around charity – doing something useful for those less fortunate, opening hospitals, etc. There was some sort of social give-and-take that kind of justified government looking the other way.
Nowadays, churches are more proselytizating social clubs that manipulate politics and in many cases attempt to force the will of a small vocal number of people on a large number of people who don’t care. Even if they self-identify as “christian”. If it were any other kind of social club, would they expect a tax break – a government hand out and endorsement?
Because churches are not taxed, my property taxes are slightly higher. Why should I as an unbeliever be expected to pay for this social club which wants to tell me how to live and run my life? A social club that I’ll never be a part of (and don’t want to be)?
Just a thought … so why not tax them AND ban them from politicking? I don’t see this as an either or. Because of their large size and the (in many cases blind) devotion of attendees, they have a special place of power and trust. Pastors/preachers/priests can easily manipulate their flocks into voting their way and this has to be guarded against.