Separation of Church and State: Good for Government, Good for Religion
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
churches should be taxed since they basically act like a business now anyways. Why give them special status? I never understood why they are tax exempt. I heard there is a town in Texas that has more churches than any other place in the US and they barely can function because they can't collect taxes from them.
well when you bring up the word taxes.. thats when they start screaming "church is seperate from state" lol.. funny how that works
I know people that pay 10 percent of everything they make.. and these numb nut pastors and clergy tell them its going to jesus himself... which is a load of horse crap.... these people make me so angry.. because they prey upon people who are there to seek out hope and peace.. and they end up taking their money and filling their minds with dilusions and some instances hate...
religion in this country has gotten OUT of control thats for sure.... its become big business... they're in the business of worship..
we want to point fingers at radical muslims... well we got our own radicals right here.. that frightens many other nations just as much....
The Constitution of Iran recognizes Christianity. The Constitution of the United States doesn't. So, why isn't Iran considered by the religious right to be a Christian Nation?
Article 13
Zoroastrian, Jewish, and Christian Iranians are the only recognized religious minorities, who, within the limits of the law, are free to perform their religious rites and ceremonies, and to act according to their own canon in matters of personal affairs and religious education.
I'm very conservative...but I believe a church or ministry should pay taxes once they pass a certain net worth. I agree that they don't want separation until they've been asked to be separated from their money. This doesn't mean I don't appreciate their ministries....but I do think it's wrong.
I'm very conservative...but I believe a church or ministry should pay taxes once they pass a certain net worth. I agree that they don't want separation until they've been asked to be separated from their money. This doesn't mean I don't appreciate their ministries....but I do think it's wrong.
What's the fundamental principle of your conservatism?
TITLE 26--INTERNAL REVENUE CODE; Sec. 501 Exemption from tax on corporations, certain trusts, etc.; (c) List of exempt organizations; (3) Corporations, and any community chest, fund, or foundation, organized and operated exclusively for religious, charitable, scientific, testing for public safety, literary, or educational purposes, or to foster national or international amateur sport competition... or for the prevention of cruelty to children or animals.
I'm sure we could find some charity, educational, public safety, and scientific organizations that have abused their tax exempt status. Should we cut them all off too? I'm not crazy about how some churches spend their money on extravegances that are unnecessary, but there are a ton of churches that barely collect enough offerings to keep the bills paid and give the pastor a decent salary. I clearly remember the pastor of the church I grew up at living in a small 2 bedroom house across the street with his wife and kid, driving an old car. The song director drove the most worn out looking car in the parking lot. We had a church van that was used to take the sick and elderly where they needed to go, and to do outreach work in the community. Outside of that, our church had monthly budget meetings to determine how to allocate offerings received after the pastor received his $1200 monthly salary, the song director a $300 monthly salary (he only worked a few hours a week and had a full time job) and paid the general bills and made building repairs when needed. Usually the money was allocated to local shelters and other non profit charities in a tri county region. This is not unusual IMO, but you hear about the big crooked churches and get the idea that is how they all operate.
So while there will be some that take advantage, its unfair to assume that most of them operate in such a manner. The only thing I recommend is a more transparent reporting system once a church is operating on property past a certain value.
The first ammendment was not intended to eradicate religion from government, but rather to prevent a religion from being established. Quiet a difference.
The first amendment was not intended to eradicate religion from government, but rather to prevent a religion from being established. Quiet a difference.
Explain to me the role our duties to the Creator are supposed to play, according to the Constitution, in the exercise of civil authority.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.