A law, sponsored by future president Lyndon Johnson and passed in 1954, allowed churches to operate tax-free in exchange for not using their pulpits as a place for political activities. That line has become so blurred over the last several years that in some cases, it seems that some churches really are nothing more than PACS (political action committees).
In a smary attempt to challenge the law, The Alliance Defense Fund, co-founded by James Dobson, who also co-founded another ridiculous christian organization, Focus On The Family, began sponsoring an event back in 2008 that has grown pretty large over the last couple of years. Billed as Pulpit Freedom Sunday, it has essentially been called a bibilical battle against the IRS, which has stepped up its investigations of churches that seem to be ignoring the law.
I don't have an issue with churches playing around in the murky game of politics. They are two worlds that are very similar in their dirty, tricky ways, like twins separated at birth. If that's the game they want to play, I say more power to them. However, I also believe that the Tax-Free status they have enjoyed for nearly 60 years then should be repealed, as well. You cannot not rally your follwers into voting one way or the other, host candidates, and donate to different political campaigns and PACS, and then use your cross as a shield against paying your fair share of taxes.
Can you imagine what a world it would be with the all the churches having to pay taxes. My gosh, it would be pretty amazing. Our deficit could possibly shrink to zero, we could actually have a surplus (you know like we did when Bill Clinton left office), and it could be an America filled with sunshine and lollipops.
(sigh)
Oh, I can still dream, can't I?
Anyway, check out the full New York Times article that I read on MSNBC.
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