Taxing the Church

Taxing the Church

The Constitution of the United States of America was written in part to support and defend the separation of church and state. If the government were to tax the churches that would place government over the churches and that would be a blatant disregard of the Constitution and simply stated, Un-American. American Atheists (2006), "Tax the Church!!! Our taxes are too high, and allowing the churches to skip out is un-American and illegal.", believes the government should do that exact thing. Is the government ready to step in and take over many of the services Churches provide to the community? If so where would it stop? Are they prepared to tax every religious establishment and organization and then continue taxing all nonprofit organizations? Churches, whether Christian or NonChristian, are justified in being labled tax exempt and that should not change regardless of one's personal beliefs.

Trying to credit the author is almost impossible considering he has no visible credentials listed within the article. He states taxes are too high, yet one cannot help but wonder if he has even a basic understanding of how the American tax system works. America does not run the risk of turning into a theocracy even though churches have been tax exempt for well over 200 years. The Constitution's first admenment clearly protects the American people and churches against a religion established, or controlled, by our government. If the seperation of church and state is working why change it now?

A church's tax exemption is a constitutional right, if the government were to remove their tax exemption, they would in turn would be required to tax all nonprofit organizations, or risk the discriminating against all religions. Churches and many nonprofit organizations make available a valuable means and are seen as a constant in the community. Their tax exemption should not be seen as an advancement for religion or the economic decline of a nation but as a service that we as Americans can seek out whether it be monetary, or emotionally. Therefore, relieving if only a little, some of the financial burdens the government could be forced to take over if not for these institutions. Many of these services would run the risk of becoming obsolete and some churches may have no choice but to close their doors altogether if they were suddenly to become a for-profit organization. In the end this would hurt many of the underprivileged members of the community that have come to rely on many of these services to live day to day.

A "Tax-Exempt" status is not only used for churches but also covers a broad range of organizations such as medical, educational, charitable, along with many others, all with a common goal of helping the community. To qualify for a tax exempt status, the church or organization must prove it is a legitimate and legal organization. The IRS