re: #89 lawhawk

Taxation of churches is a result of a public policy determination that it is in the public interest to give churches a tax-exemption or other tax breaks due to their charitable works and social betterment.

Property tax breaks often require the churches to show that they’re engaged in charitable works or other nonprofit activities.

The income tax break derives from whether an entity registers under Sec. 501 of the tax code.

Churches can qualify under 501(c)(3) but if they violate the part in bold, they should lose their exemption.

Churches can also lose their status if they engage in actions that violate the charitable intent. See here.

I think the point being made is that enforcement seems to be fairly lax when it comes to churches. Now whether this is just a general laxity regarding 501-c organizations in general would be worthy of additional investigation. And I’m sure there are non-religious non-profits that abuse their status as well.