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Separation of church and state is a restriction on the state from being religious, not the church from being political. The bill of rights is a list of restric
by donatj 3y ago
Separation of church and state is a restriction on the state from being religious, not the church from being political.
The bill of rights is a list of restrictions on the state by very definition.
- mumblemumble 3y agoThere's a double standard here, though. Tax-exempt charities are prohibited from using tax-exempt funds to engage in certain kinds of political speech. Those that do electioneer or conduct lobbying, for example, have separate non-tax-exempt branches that handle it, with their own funds and strict financial firewalls separating them from the rest of the organization. Churches, on the other hand, get to flout those rules all the time. And I do mean churches; other religions don't tend to enjoy quite the same latitude. And that selective enforcement by the government is a separation of church and state issue.
- username3 3y agoDidn’t America have churches before tax exempt laws? Tax laws came later. Your problem is with taxes and government spending. Remove taxes churches are exempt from and raise sales tax.
- mcv 3y agoSales tax is very regressive. I'd rather see income tax raised. But honestly, property tax does make a lot of sense. I'd suggest a property tax exemption for all properties that are used for community gatherings, which includes open church services, but also other clubs and organisations that bring people together. I think that's justifiable, and it frees churches from their most unavoidable tax costs.
- birdyrooster 3y agoI don’t see the difference. When a religious person is being political their activity is making the state religious. The state is not a football for religious games and it undermines people’s freedom to encourage this behavior. Religions use the state to beat up other religions by changing laws, rules, school resources, and public staff.
- nailer 3y ago> The state is not a football for religious games The state should reflect the ethics of the people. Religious morality is a type of speech. This is immaterial but just in case anyone assumes anything: I'm not personally religious.
- devilbunny 3y agoA church that engages in direct political advocacy for a specific politician can and will lose its tax exemption. Like PACs, they can only advocate ideas, not people. Some skirt that line very closely.
- throw9away6 3y agoIn theory yes but nobody would apply the rules to a major religion
- willdough 3y ago[dead]
- paulgrant999 3y ago[dead]