re: #217 Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))

How is the tax exemption for churches covered in the Constitution/Bill of Rights?

It isn’t, at all. That was a legislative action.

What then differentiates them from any PAC or political party, or can they then all start calling themselves churches?

Depends how vigorously the Johnson Amendment is enforced.

Theoretically, making them tax-exempt was because the community-building value of their existence, plus the charitable work they were supposedly doing, was a net benefit to society. But that law was before the Religious Right became an organized political force, and they’re supposed to not endorse or oppose candidates or parties.

If we try to tax them… sorry, but I just can’t imagine what the property tax bill might be for St Patricks, or the Cathedral of St John the Divine, or the Washington National Cathedral.

And while Joel Osteen or the Mormon Tabernacle can easily pay whatever taxes might accrue… what about the little storefront churches with a membership of 40 families?