I must disagree with you on your last point involving Gay Marriage and Abortion. These are, I believe, the two hot buttons for the political struggle against them. They are NOT inherently political, they have been made so because of the same belief systems of virtually all the different religions. If the world's religious base changed to include the acceptance of gays in a meaningful way, the political folderol that ensues and accompanies each attempt to revise the laws would change as well.

Don't non-profits need to be engaged in real, quantitative, socially acceptable activities? Like toy for tots, make a wish foundation, the salvation army, etc...

Other than promulgating faith what does the church contribute to society that requires then to keep all their donations?

How do they justify not contributing (financially) to society in the form of taxation?

I do not believe religious organizations should be totally exempt from taxation. There is no harm in extending them tax breaks for their charitable donations or deeds but total exemption is foolish and financially irresponsible. Why should they receive the exemption that we, as individuals, cannot fully apply to our taxes as a deduction?

The church, albeit a spiritual enterprise, is a business and it's a very big business indeed. It is said that the Catholic church is the largest and richest 'corporation' in the world! Their property holdings alone would feed and medicate Africa for the next 100 years! I'm not picking on Catholics...this is simply an illustration of the money they have and property they own. The property they hold is not always used for the purpose of bringing the word of God to the masses. It is rented out to corporations, companies and for other purposes. If nothing else, they should pay taxes on those properties and what they earn from them.

Only the poorest of churches should be exempt from taxation and only for a prescribed amount of time, say 5-10 years at the most. The churches should be more than happy and gratified to do this because, in essence, they are helping their parishioners to live a better life without so much of a struggle on a daily basis. We should all pay our 'fair share' no matter who we are and what we do.

Holdings Around The World

http://one-faith-of-god.org/final_testament/end_of_darkness/truth/truth_0030.htm

'Church' has no place in politics; someones' belief systems are their own and should NEVER be forced upon another. But it seems to be in today's "progressive" environment that 'church' no longer wants to remain a source for someone's individual solace...heck, in reality, they've never wanted to be that but I'll try to stay on point. the USA allows 'church' to get benefits, like tax exemptions. Yet it's more overt/obvious these days(ie:CA prop 8) that they no longer care about that benefit, therefore eliminate it for ALL churches and lets see who starts frothing at the mouth... it may be only 10 mega church organizations that are 'playing with fire,' but if we take it away from all the churches then there may be a chance that they'll do some self policing on the issue...think of it in regards to how the nation decides other things... people are too "stupid" to watch after their own safety, so "we" impose it upon them(ie:seatbelt laws, no smoking laws, etc) If the benefit is taken away from ALL then those trying to remain within the rules can gain back the benefits

I think that churches should follow the same rules that other people do and receive the same tax breaks for donating to charity. This would give these Church's an incentive to donate more. Also, not all Church's donate to the needy, and often times these church's support causes that are inherently political (gay marriage, and abortion).

Even then, there should be a clear distinction between the charity/service and the operations of the church, both officially and fiscally. They're getting the tax exemption based on their service to the community, and as such, should not be allowed to officially associate any religion with the particular service, which would imply government endorsement.

No, I think churches need to show where their heart really is. If they really want to serve the community, then they can do that as a completely separate entity (or better yet, as individuals).

I don't think churches should receive tax exemptions but i think charitable organizations some of which are churches should. I think that churches need to constantly prove that they are taking part in charitable actions in order to receive tax exemptions since churches shouldn't receive tax exemptions just because they are a religious organization.

The government is supposed to protect the right of its citizens to practice any religion they see fit, but it is not obligated or given the right to protect or give aid to religion and its institutions.

Because I strongly feel that charitable organizations that work to help better society and those struggling I'm willing to accept that some churches can receive tax exemptions, as long as they are individually proven to be charitable to a noticeable extent, even though i think it partially if not completely violates the principle of separation of church and state.

Your right, I think political was the wrong word. How about "not their business?" Religions telling people that aren't a part of their religion how to live their lives. As for religions changing, I doubt that. It usually takes hundreds of years for a church to apologize for mistakes of the past. It is much more likely these issues will be decided long before any church changes their views.

Based on what reasoning?

Not quite. These are things that are made into hot-button issues by politicians who want to draw the "faithful" to the polls. They're using religious positions for political grandstanding and pandering.

No different than, say, the Pharisees & Saducees (which is how I view the democrat/republican dichotomy).

I know that a lot of church's do a lot for charity, and I think that's great. They donate Millions, but where do they get the money? The church's would be better off saying where people should donate, but you are right that they usually do a good job organizing charitable foundations.

I do think that if a Church is making a significant charitable contribution they should have little or no taxes, and therefore if your right, it won't affect most churches.

Do you know what would happen if certain religions got tax exemptions? OMG...I don't even want to think about it.