America Spends $71 Billion Annually Subsidizing Tax-Exempt Religion

Religion • November 2013 • Views: 1,623

A new report by a research team at the University of Tampa finds that tax-exempt religious organizations are subsidized by the U.S. government — meaning, you and me — to the tune of $71 billion each year. As a rule, religious organizations and many of their their employees — such as ministers, priests, rabbis, etc. — can be exempt from paying local, state, and federal taxes, income taxes, property taxes, sales taxes, investment taxes, etc.

“What we found suggests that religious institutions, if they were required to pay taxes the same as for-profit corporations do, would not have nearly as much money or influence as they enjoy in America today,” the report, published at the Council for Secular Humanism, states:

More: America Spends $71 Billion Annually Subsidizing Tax-Exempt Religion

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15 comments

jogiff Sat, Nov 23, 2013 1:09:47am

I’m sure that the small-government, Constitution-loving, fiscally responsible Republicans will be outraged when they find out.

Greup Sat, Nov 23, 2013 1:20:32am

Reminds me of this old Zappa song:
open.spotify.com

hellosnackbar Sat, Nov 23, 2013 2:32:19am

It’s a piece of black comedy that promoters of fairy stories and backward culture are treated as privileged people!

Justanotherhuman Sat, Nov 23, 2013 2:56:53am

Just incredible.

They still can’t make me “believe” they’re better than anyone else, though.

No Country For Old Haters Sat, Nov 23, 2013 6:01:11am

So many churches ARE for-profit and should absolutely be taxed, if not imprisoned for fraud. If the preacher is living large, it’s a scam, and should be treated as such.

sauceruney Sat, Nov 23, 2013 6:03:04am

Think of it as our yearly bailout for another institution that’s “too big to fail”

Political Atheist Sat, Nov 23, 2013 9:28:47am

$71 billion is just a small, nay miniscule part of the price we pay for the 1st amendment and it’s critical importance. And it’s worth it for the clear separation. Expecting to have that both ways makes little sense to me.

Political Atheist Sat, Nov 23, 2013 9:34:23am

re: #3 hellosnackbar

It’s a piece of black comedy that promoters of fairy stories and backward culture are treated as privileged people!

Black comedy?
So much for the spirit of respecting anyones religious beliefs. Judaism, Christianity, Buddhism. Neva mind it’s just black comedy. To be casually dismissed like last weeks cable show.

mechanic Sat, Nov 23, 2013 9:56:37am

This exemption allows one class of people to be favored over others.

CuriousLurker Sat, Nov 23, 2013 10:09:05am

re: #8 Political Atheist

It seems to be par for the course:

littlegreenfootballs.com

richarddawkins.net

old.richarddawkins.net

Political Atheist Sat, Nov 23, 2013 10:19:25am

re: #9 mechanic

We do a lot of that. We have a tax law library chock full of exemptions.

Political Atheist Sat, Nov 23, 2013 10:28:57am

re: #10 CuriousLurker

The source of the criticism (not the study!)

Council for Secular Humanism

Basically an anti religion lobbying group that in this instance leverages a straw man about money to undermine the tax exemption. That is not why they get a break. The constitution is.

Who defines the appropriate salary for a clergyman or woman? Can the critics tell me exactly how much is too much? Otherwise it’s just broad brushing all religions organizations into the same accusations of religion being nothing more than a financial scam.

My word that web site is just based on anti religious fervor, anger and hatred. I agree completely with Pres. Kennedy. I don’t recall a peep out of him about tax exemptions being wrong for religious org.

CuriousLurker Sat, Nov 23, 2013 11:48:30am

re: #12 Political Atheist

The way I see it, the Council for Secular Humanism and other similar groups are free to lobby & debate all they want and in any manner they want.

That said, if their members or other individuals who agree with them & advocate for their position were half as observant & clever as they seem to think they are, then they would stop the angry hateful spewing. From the Council for Secular Humanism website:

About the Council for Secular Humanism

The mission of the Council for Secular Humanism is to advocate and defend a nonreligious lifestance rooted in science, naturalistic philosophy, and humanist ethics and to serve and support adherents of that lifestance.

The Council is North America’s leading organization for non-religious people. A not-for-profit educational corporation, the Council supports a wide range of activities to meet the needs of people who find meaning and value in life without looking to a religion. Its activities range from magazine publishing and campaigning on ethical issues to holding conferences and supporting a network of autonomous local groups.

Secular humanists reject supernatural and authoritarian beliefs. They affirm that we must take responsibility for our own lives and the communities and world in which we live. Secular humanism emphasizes reason and scientific inquiry, individual freedom and responsibility, human values and compassion, and the need for tolerance and cooperation. […]

I have no problem with any of that, and that last bit is quite noble, IMO. The thing is, secular humanists are every bit as human and therefore prone to making mistakes & behaving badly as their religious counterparts, at which point that last noble set of principles gets totally trashed.

I spent the better part of my teen years dealing with a mother who, in the space of a couple of years, went from being the kind, forgiving, doting parent I’d known all my life to a delusional, fire-breathing, shove it down your throat, born-again/charismatic Christian. Many of the people she associated with were arrogant & hateful, and they could become remarkably spiteful if you dared to disagree with them. Not once did their assholery come anywhere near convincing me that I should convert to their worldview.

So guess what? When I see atheists behave in the same way towards believers, it looks like exactly the same kind of myopic self-serving bullshit I dealt with as a teen. It doesn’t matter how justified or correct someone thinks they are in their belief or unbelief—if they’re being hateful and intentionally hurting or insulting people, then it seems to me that the only thing being defended is ego, not reason or truth or justice or freedom.

Someone wants be a Westboro athiest? Go for it—like obnoxious extremists the world over, all they’re doing is hurting thier own cause and dragging the moderate majority of their group down into the muck with them.

CuriousLurker Sat, Nov 23, 2013 12:10:09pm

FWIW, I do happen to think that preachers or other religious leaders should be allowed to personally profit from like some of them they seem to do (i.e. they appear to be living very lavish lifestyles).

I know almost nothing about tax codes & such, but surely there must be some way to tax luxury items. Any religious org getting involved in politics should also lose their tax-free status as non-profits—I realize there are already laws on the books for that, but it seems to me that they aren’t strictly enforced (or perhaps they need to be tweaked).

CuriousLurker Sat, Nov 23, 2013 3:14:20pm

re: #14 CuriousLurker

FWIW, I don’t happen to think that preachers or other religious leaders should be allowed to personally profit from like some of them ~~they~~ seem to do (i.e. they appear to be living very lavish lifestyles).

I know almost nothing about tax codes & such, but surely there must be some way to tax luxury items. Any religious org getting involved in politics should also lose their tax-free status as non-profits—I realize there are already laws on the books for that, but it seems to me that they aren’t strictly enforced (or perhaps they need to be tweaked).

Typos corrected.

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