Churches and 501(3)c

[HumbleMan]

I've been thinking lately about churches and how protective they are of their 501(3) status. My question is why?

I don't see anywhere in the bible that the church should take special priviledges (and really, that's what it is) from the government. Now, I also don't believe that the church should be the moral arm of politicians or parties, either.

But when Christ told his disciple to "give unto Ceasar what is his", he was talking about a first century tax.

So why has the church so gleefully embraced a law enacted by a corrupt, liberal president designed to silence his critics?

[daveleau]

The Church provides a major portion of social aids to the public. No other group, short of the government itself, provides for the people of this country than the Christian Church. This is the main reason for the tax-exempt status. Many have abused this privilege, and whole church groups/religions have been formed to gain money from this.

When Jesus spoke of rendering to Caesar what is Caesar's, he was thwarting the Sadducees' attempt to get Him to incriminate Himself by saying the Jews should not pay taxes. This was a problem the Romans had with the many peoples, and a very serious crime that would be severely punished. And, the Sadducees were also trying to get Jesus stuck in the Jewish law regarding graven images.

The Church renders unto Caesar (the government) what it is called to, and thus does not break this rule. If the Church lost its tax exempt status and then refused to pay, then this passage would be a problem for the Church.

The benefit of the tax exempt status is that the Gospel is spread more effectively, and the poor are more easily taken care of. It is a win-win situation, and defending this against the atheistic trend in society is synonymous with defending our ability to spread the Gospel.

Often when discussing the Church and government, people get unnecessarily and incorrectly wound up in the 1st Amendment. The separation is to protect the Church, not to protect the populace from being exposed to religion. The attempts to remove the tax exempt status from the Church is another attempt of the atheistic-element of society to make the US a religion-free zone. It is sad, and must be thwarted with all our efforts.

In Him,
Dave

[david01]

Interestingly, in countries such as Germany, the state church (depending on the section of Germany) is not only tax exempt, but is supported by taxes. In a certain sense the state churches become a branch of the government social services department. The result over time has been a huge loss of interest by the populace in Christianity in general, as they associate it with taxation and with a government bureaucracy. During the Nazi era the churches were required to teach and preach Nazi doctrines or face elimination. Dietrich Bonhoeffer was one of the primary martyrs at that time.

The churches in the United States are fortunate in their tax-exempt status, but it does not mean that the government cannot enforce its will on the churches. There are several Christian colleges that have defied the government by not accepting the carrot on the stick (i.e. goverment aid in education) and have maintained their freedom, at the cost of lost dollars. The question really becomes how much is the church willing to accept from the government and at what cost?

[sageoffools]

Actually, in the US, according to IRS regulations, a church is considered tax-exempt by default and does not even have to file for 501(3)c status.
It is more difficult to get your tax exemption recognized, but as long as you can prove you are actually a church, you are tax exempt regardless of your 501(3)c status.

[Monica02]

Churches save mega-bucks by accepting their tax-exempt status. I cannot speak for other denominations, but I would love to see the Catholic Church chuck its tax-exempt status and all the strings that come along with it. They would suffer financially but - ooooooh - it would be nice to not have to listen to some priest or bishop's lame excuse for not proclaiming Church teaching.

[PaladinGirl]

As others have said, the Church benefits greatly from being tax exempt. Churches in the USA are tax exempt and should stay that way. Also, churches should stay out of politics. I see nothing wrong with the Church telling people how to vote on certain moral issues and stuff but telling them to vote for a certain political party or a certain candidate is wrong.

[chris777]

unfortunately the lines are becoming ever increasingly blurred, with those that abuse the tax privledge, and with the so called faith based initiatives,
I do not see the seperation remaining effective for too much longer

[MbiaJc]

I've been thinking lately about churches and how protective they are of their 501(3) status. My question is why?

I don't see anywhere in the bible that the church should take special priviledges (and really, that's what it is) from the government. Now, I also don't believe that the church should be the moral arm of politicians or parties, either.

But when Christ told his disciple to "give unto Ceasar what is his", he was talking about a first century tax.

So why has the church so gleefully embraced a law enacted by a corrupt, liberal president designed to silence his critics?

A better question is whether a 501c3 Church is a goverment church or a Church of our lord Jesus Christ?

[MbiaJc]

=david01;40686810 Interestingly, in countries such as Germany, the state church (depending on the section of Germany) is not only tax exempt, but is supported by taxes. In a certain sense the state churches become a branch of the government social services department. The result over time has been a huge loss of interest by the populace in Christianity in general, as they associate it with taxation and with a government bureaucracy. During the Nazi era the churches were required to teach and preach Nazi doctrines or face elimination. Dietrich Bonhoeffer was one of the primary martyrs at that time.

The same thing can happen to a 501c3 church here in the good old USA!!!

The churches in the United States are fortunate in their tax-exempt status, but it does not mean that the government cannot enforce its will on the churches. There are several Christian colleges that have defied the government by not accepting the carrot on the stick (i.e. goverment aid in education) and have maintained their freedom, at the cost of lost dollars. The question really becomes how much is the church willing to accept from the government and at what cost?[/


Exactly! At what cost!!!!!!

[sageoffools]

Once again, a church does not have to be incorporated in order to enjoy tax exempt status. According to the IRS statutes a church is tax exempt by default. If a church remains unincorporated, it can enjoy tax exempt status without any government interference.