Should Religions be entitled to Tax Exempt Status

[Durry]

Property owned by religious groups and income gathered by religious groups are mostly Tax Exempt.

But should they be Tax Exempt if they are going to get involved in such things as voicing their positions on political issues or environmental issues?? Are they crossing the line from being a religious group to advocacy group?

What about the Muslim religion, some say the qran is not a religious book but a philosophy of life book??

 

[PoliticalNick]

Property owned by religious groups and income gathered by religious groups are mostly Tax Exempt.

But should they be Tax Exempt if they are going to get involved in such things as voicing their positions on political issues or environmental issues?? Are they crossing the line from being a religious group to advocacy group?

What about the Muslim religion, some say the qran is not a religious book but a philosophy of life book??

They are all private 'clubs' just like a private golf course or the like and therefore should pay taxes on their assets and income. Some may do some wonderful charity work but for the most part they just fleece the flock and let the top bananas live in luxury. Let them deduct any provable charity costs and pay tax on the rest.

 

[The Old Medic]

Until the 20th Century, all churches were heavily involved in political campaigns. There is absolutely no reason why they should be prohibited from being involved.

 

[TenPenny]

I think churches should be as political as they want to be, and they should pay taxes like any other organization. There's no reason they should be tax exempt.

 

[L Gilbert]

lol This is a big can of worms.

Interesting info here; http://atheism.about.com/od/churchestaxexemptions/Tax_Exempt_Churches_Religious_Freedom_vs_Tax_Exemptions.htm

 

[JLM]

Absolutely................if the proponents want to make it up out of their own pockets! :smile:

 

[tay]

Property owned by religious groups and income gathered by religious groups are mostly Tax Exempt.

But should they be Tax Exempt if they are going to get involved in such things as voicing their positions on political issues or environmental issues?? Are they crossing the line from being a religious group to advocacy group?

What about the Muslim religion, some say the qran is not a religious book but a philosophy of life book??

Did you forget to post something?

 

[PoliticalNick]

lol This is a big can of worms.

Interesting info here; http://atheism.about.com/od/churchestaxexemptions/Tax_Exempt_Churches_Religious_Freedom_vs_Tax_Exemptions.htm

Thus, the exact nature or purpose of a charitable organization remains open and variable, but one constant remains which unites the class: the general benefit of the public and society.

I would argue based on the historical evidence that organized religion of any type is in no way beneficial to the public or society. It does little besides create division and derision and has been the root cause of so many killing and wars you could never say it was a benefit to society in general. Therefore they should have no tax exemptions at all.

 

[gerryh]

I would argue based on the historical evidence that organized religion of any type is in no way beneficial to the public or society. It does little besides create division and derision and has been the root cause of so many killing and wars you could never say it was a benefit to society in general. Therefore they should have no tax exemptions at all.

:roll:

 

[PoliticalNick]

:roll:

That all you got for an intelligent response G?

 

[WLDB]

They're a business like any other. Tax them.

 

[JLM]

I would argue based on the historical evidence that organized religion of any type is in no way beneficial to the public or society. It does little besides create division and derision and has been the root cause of so many killing and wars you could never say it was a benefit to society in general. Therefore they should have no tax exemptions at all.

You might want to tell that to the chaps at Salvation Army!

 

[PoliticalNick]

You might want to tell that to the chaps at Salvation Army!

There may be a few good people who do good deeds in the name of their religion, I will gladly agree with that but these tend to be people who would help their fellow man even if religion didn't exist.

I am talking about the idea of a single dogmatic view and theory that one group who believes in some ancient fairy tales is right and that all the other group's fairy tales are wrong. This is what religion is and it has been used to incite and justify many mass murders throughout history. The thing with religion is there is absolutely NO TRUTH in any of them. Other than a few actual places we have zero provable reliability in any of the books or teachings of any religion. To me it is therefore the biggest waste of human time and effort to ever appear on this planet and the arguments over who is right in their particular theory may have led to many wars and will lead to many more and yet not one will ever be proven correct.

 

[WLDB]

Absolutely................if the proponents want to make it up out of their own pockets! :smile:

Wont cost me a dime. I havent given a religious institution so much as a penny since I was a child. When I do donate to charities they are not religious ones.

 

[JLM]

There may be a few good people who do good deeds in the name of their religion, I will gladly agree with that but these tend to be people who would help their fellow man even if religion didn't exist.

I am talking about the idea of a single dogmatic view and theory that one group who believes in some ancient fairy tales is right and that all the other group's fairy tales are wrong. This is what religion is and it has been used to incite and justify many mass murders throughout history. The thing with religion is there is absolutely NO TRUTH in any of them. Other than a few actual places we have zero provable reliability in any of the books or teachings of any religion. To me it is therefore the biggest waste of human time and effort to ever appear on this planet and the arguments over who is right in their particular theory may have led to many wars and will lead to many more and yet not one will ever be proven correct.

There is a lot of bullsh*t for sure, but to say there is ABSOLUTELY no truth is a bit of stretch. There are theologians who are intelligent and wise men/women and to dismiss everything they say is a little presumpuous to say the least. While the masses may dismiss them in ordinary times, the number drops in times of crisis, when reassurance and comfort are needed.

Wont cost me a dime. I havent given a religious institution so much as a penny since I was a child. When I do donate to charities they are not religious ones.

For the most efficient use of your donation you may want to consider Salvation Army. They are not judgmental when it comes to giving help.

 

[PoliticalNick]

There is a lot of bullsh*t for sure, but to say there is ABSOLUTELY no truth is a bit of stretch. There are theologians who are intelligent and wise men/women and to dismiss everything they say is a little presumpuous to say the least. While the masses may dismiss them in ordinary times, the number drops in times of crisis, when reassurance and comfort are needed.

Not a stretch at all. Gather all your educated, intelligent theologians together and sit with them for a few months and between the bunch of you please PROVE just one event in the bible, or Torah, or Quran or any other religious book. If you cannot prove the event then any writing about it has to be considered untrue and unreliable, nothing but uncorroborated heresay, and since religion requires blind faith and actually shuns the idea of evidenciary proof all of it is lies! There is no other logical interpretation.

 

[JLM]

Not a stretch at all. Gather all your educated, intelligent theologians together and sit with them for a few months and between the bunch of you please PROVE just one event in the bible, or Torah, or Quran or any other religious book. If you cannot prove the event then any writing about it has to be considered untrue and unreliable, nothing but uncorroborated heresay, and since religion requires blind faith and actually shuns the idea of evidenciary proof all of it is lies! There is no other logical interpretation.

I'm not knowledgable enough about it to argue other than in a general way, but perhaps you'd like to comment on the Dead Sea Scrolls!

 

[PoliticalNick]

I'm not knowledgable enough about it to argue other than in a general way, but perhaps you'd like to comment on the Dead Sea Scrolls!

What about them. They are a bunch of apparently ancient texts apparently found in a cave. They seem to be accepted in the christian community as gospel truth and proof of christ etc, yadda-yadda, etc... but really what do they prove...nothing. There is no way to tell if they are a true history or an equivalent to Grimm's Fairy Tales. All you have is some old parchment with old writing that tells a story which may or may not be true. Until you find the guy that wrote them and ask him directly or find some hard evidence proving their truth you have to accept them on faith, and I have zero faith in a group of guys in burlap sacks asking me to believe in some dude in the clouds who runs the universe and wants me to give said burlap wearing guys 20% of my earnings every Sunday.

 

[JLM]

What about them. They are a bunch of apparently ancient texts apparently found in a cave. They seem to be accepted in the christian community as gospel truth and proof of christ etc, yadda-yadda, etc... but really what do they prove...nothing. There is no way to tell if they are a true history or an equivalent to Grimm's Fairy Tales. All you have is some old parchment with old writing that tells a story which may or may not be true. Until you find the guy that wrote them and ask him directly or find some hard evidence proving their truth you have to accept them on faith, and I have zero faith in a group of guys in burlap sacks asking me to believe in some dude in the clouds who runs the universe and wants me to give said burlap wearing guys 20% of my earnings every Sunday.

I thought it was 10%............................a tithe! :smile:

 

[PoliticalNick]

I thought it was 10%............................a tithe! :smile:

Maybe....depends on the cult you are part of I guess. Family friends became 'born again' a few years back, they are expected.to give 25% of their gross income to support the church.

What I want explaining is if god is all powerful and controls the entire universe why does he need the human invention of cash? And isn't money also the 'root of all evil'? Why would god want any of that? Maybe it's just the church that is evil? Or the people who run the church and want your money are evil.