Random Politics & Religion #00

You refuse to acknowledge that by holding hostage their tax status, they are in fact forcing churches to either conform or close.

These aren't even hairs you're splitting, you're too blind to see there's NOTHING there.

I'm just wondering how religious institutions got this status in the first place.

Ooooo~ The spooky "they"!

Medical Secrets they don't want you to know about.

Tradition.

They weren't taxed in medieval Europe. The European settlers continued the practice in the colonies. Then it got codified when we became a country,

Can peanut butter cause infertility... yes it can !

Churches under law are considered non-profit organizations. You would have to change the law to prohibit all non profits from claiming this status if they didn't bow to the PC flavor of the month, or just have a bone to pick with the church to single them out.

No. Under law they have many exemptions that nonprofits do not get.

This was explained to you some pages back.

And many churches are all about profits.

That isn't an exculpatory statement, you are assuming that is the status quo, it isn't. "Making them follow the same rules like they do now."

except they don't really function like non profit companies.

This is also nothing new Nausi... I don't know why you keep acting like this is the first time anyone has suggested this ever lol It's just an old conversation happening again under a new light.

I don't think Nausi actually wants to have a legitimate discussion. As you have pointed out, he isn't actually reading.

According to Nausi everyone that isn't him has a mental disorder. I wonder what that says about his character..

Who here really wants to have a discussion though...this is a video game forum not a college class.

It's because of this attitude that you get an F!

Leave that that they aren't simple non-profit organizations, tax exempt status is a privilege, and should be dependent on conforming to federal law. Under federal law, they AREN'T required to perform or recognize same sex marriages unless it pertains to community property or is a stipulation of received funding for a community service.

You really don't have a clue what the first amendment means, do you?

I mean the most popular thread on here is 95% anime pictures/gifs. And we have a topic headline here but the only difference is we tend to not talk about anime in here. And they do over there.

Let's pretend that this is true, which it emphatically is not.

a.) Why does a church need tax exempt status?

b.) Why would having to pay a small proportion of their earnings cause churches to close the doors?

The only way either of these make sense is if one assumes that churches generate so little income that even a small percentage paid to the revenue service would bankrupt them. And if a church is that badly funded, it can only be because no one is attending services there. Here in the Republican version of the United States, the free market is the true religion and not being able to cover a trivial tax burden because one has no income, thereby causing the place to be shuttered, is catechism.

Thankfully, your doom-and-gloom has no basis in reality. Catholic churches, which have always been viewed with some skepticism by the Protestant majority in the US, have been refusing divorcees and non-Catholics for decades and their doors remain open. Hell, they protect priests who rape children without losing their status, so saying they don't want to marry a same-sex couple isn't even a blip on the radar.

Keep drinking the Kool-Aid.

Sure. It says that the goal(s) of the secular, non-profit organization are directly impacted by the amount of money they collect.

And if the goals of a religious organization is directly impacted by the amount of money they collect, that should tell you something about the religion. Because last I recall, it isn't God that needed the money.

So why exactly is the religion harmed by paying taxes? You don't get nice places to pray in? Isn't religion about belief? Why is belief harmed by paying taxes?

And before the strawmen get pulled out, I've made my stance fairly clear, and I'll be explicit here: the best goal would be to treat non-profits, secular or otherwise, equally. Rather than implicitly supporting an organization through special treatment of tax breaks(complicating *everyones* tax code), explicitly support through donations (either personal, organizational, or governmental), which means that it would be moved to the budgeting area rather than revenue.

kool-aid gets a bad rap.

Tis the season!

Churches are automatically considered 501(c)(3) charities by the tax code.

Things that aren't churches (actual places of worship) like religious organizations and places that advance and administer must still abide by 501(c)(3) regulations.

The greatest lie ever told: That Jonestown's mass suicide was perpetuated with Kool-Aid. Infact, it was Flavor Aid that was used. Cherry flavor.

Don't believe the lies. Kool-Aid is innocent. The Kool-Aid man himself denounced the mass murders and assured me that he'd never have sold his crystalline powder to a cult.

So if we're going to prevent churches from claiming non profit status because through their practice of religion they defy the courts established ruling, do we get to revoke the tax exempt status of Mother Jones because it publishes articles that defy the courts ruling on abortion?

Well first, no, because Mother Jones is a magazine published by Foundation for National Progress. So if you were to go after an organization, it would be Foundation for National Progress.[edit: MJ is apparently a sub-organization also under 501c3; so it would indeed be feasible to go directly after them]

Second, no, because the articles don't defy any court's ruling on abortion.

Sure they do, they advocate for further abortive measures that aren't covered by the ruling.

Do they perform them?

No but they advocate for them. Why should they be allowed to say such things in defiance of the law and maintain a tax exempt status?

?

Churches are not automatically considered non-profit. They are automatically exempted from having to register with the IRS as a 501(c)(3) organization.

They enjoy a tax exempt status and yet they advocate against the law of the land. We should take away their special status because they don't align themselves with the law, shouldn't we? Or do we only save that assault for the catholic church because we have a bone to pick with Catholicism?