ACLU Opposes Tax Exemptions For All Churches
Posted on July 28, 2005
Just reading the two statements above should wake up the Christians on both the left and right! And after learning this myself, the question came to me….how could anyone say this organization is not anti-Christian? I know all of you are wanting to see the evidence yourself, and while I don’t have the official policy to refer you to, I have learned this information from a very well respected author, William A. Donahue, in his book Twilight of Libery/The Legacy of The ACLU. Donahue has attained their policy guide and is one of the most trusted experts on the ACLU.
So let the story telling begin….
Recently down in Dixie, the ACLU have been discussing revoking the tax exemption of certain Churches. However, what they really want is to revoke it on all Christian Churches. Its in their history, along with their bias. They don’t hate religion, just Christianity.
We will start out with the ACLU’s official policy on the tax exemption of Churches. Policy #92, “Religious Bodies’ Tax Exemption”…it states, “The ACLU opposes the tax-exemption of all churches…”Source
During the 1988 presidential campaign the ACLU was brought under the spotlight. Michael Dukakis, the democrat nominee, proudly stated, “I’m a card-carrying member of the American Civil Liberties Union.” These words would soon come back to haunt him. I will not focus too much on this campaign other than using it as evidence of the ACLU’s position on the tax exemption of churches. However, Dukakis’s association with this group proved to be a major factor in his defeat.
During the first debate, Peter Jennings of ABC asked George Bush why he continued to make an issue out of Dukakis’s membership in the ACLU. Bush replied that he didn’t like most of the ACLU’s positions and offered four of them. We will just focus on the one we are talking about right now. Bush said, “I don’t think they’re right to try to take away the tax exemption of the Catholic Church.”
The ACLU don’t deny their position! Norman Dorsen, president of the American Civil Liberties Union from 1976 to 1991, refuted Bush’s statements, and said that the ACLU opposes tax exemption for all churches, not just the Catholic Church.Source
Here is a little more history on the issue from Twilight of Liberty.
“ACLU founder Roger Baldwin once told me that the ACLU’s desire to strip the churches of their tax exempt status was “very foolish.” But in 1969, some nineteen years after Baldwin stepped down as executive director, the Union adopted its first policy opposing “tax exemption for church property which is used exclusively for religious purposes.’ In the latest policy on this subject, it makes no difference to the Union whether church property is not used exclusively for religious purposes, all are denied: “The ACLU opposes tax benefits for religious bodies”, seven examples are listed for clarification, including the benefit of tax exemption.”Source
“In 1970, the year after the ACLU issued its first policy opposing the tax exempt status for churches, it accepted the advice of church and state extremist Leo Pfeffer and drafted a brief opposing tax exemptions in Waltz v. Tax Commission. In 1987, the ACLU Foundation and the New York Civil Liberties Union filed an amicus brief in support of Abortion Rights Mobilization to secure standing in a suit challenging the tax exempt status of the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church was charged with violating its tax-exempt status by taking a stand against abortion.”Source
Meanwhile with the Witches
“While the ACLU was taking aim at the Catholic Church’s tax exempt status, the Union affiliate in Providence, Rhode Island, came out in favor of a tax exemption for Satanists.”Source They went and got a tax administator to rule that a coven of witches were entitled the same tax-exemption as churches had. This is pure hypocrisy. The ACLU’s involvement in this case clearly shows that they will defend the rights of the occult. Many Christians wonder why they are not as acommodating to our interests.”
Now if we were to follow some misguided philosphy of the seperation of church and state, one might could rationalize their policy on a church’s tax exempt status. One could also rationalize a posistion of tax exemption to all religions. But their is no logical reasoning that one could take to defend both of these positions. It is pure hypocrisy, and proof that the ACLU is an enemy of Christianity.
I question their tax exempt-status! I think it’s time for Christians on the left and right to wake up to the ACLU’s agenda!
SIGN THE PETITION TO GET THE ACLU OFF THE TAXPAYER’S DOLE
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43 Responses to “ACLU Opposes Tax Exemptions For All Churches”
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In other words, the ACLU doesn’t believe in ‘Separation of Church and State’ the ACLU believes in ‘Separation of Church FROM State’
If the ACLU had it’s way we would all be swearing on the Constitution. (The ACLU endorsed version of the Constitution, that is…)
Great post, Jay. I wonder if the ACLU will start saying that not allowing sacrifices for certain religions violates civil rights?
What? The ACLU is hypocritical? I’m shocked! Great post Jay.
The ACLU wanted tax exempt status ONLY for wiccans but not for other religious organizations? That’s just bizarre.
In the past the ACLU has asked for government to afford equal treatment for all speech. That is, either give tax-exempt status to all non-profit policy advocates, or none.
(Now, I’ve always been a little skeptical about tax exemptions anyway. Why should Gold’s Gym pay taxes but not the YMCA? Why should for-profit health care systems pay taxes, but not-for-profit ones get a free ride? Don’t they all benefit equally from our national defense, our roads, our courts, our currency, our police?
And why should donations to these organizations be tax-deductible? The government gives a bigger subsidy to Bill Gates for giving to his church than the government gives to me for giving to mine, simply because Bill Gates is in a higher tax bracket. What sense does that make? I mean, I’ve got nothing against Gates giving money to his church, but why does he need an added bonus to do it? Especially now, when we’re at war and running large deficits, these seem like bad policies to me. I think we should get the tax code out of the equation entirely. But that’s just me.)
That said - IF we’re gonna give tax breaks to some people, we should give them on an even-handed basis. IF we give tax breaks to the Catholics, then we need to give those same tax breaks to other religions as well. Conversely, we could withhold tax breaks from everyone equally. But whichever policy we choose, we should apply it even-handedly.
And if we withhold tax-exempt status from organizations simply because they lobby, then we should withhold it from ALL organizations that lobby. Conversely, we could repeal the prohibition on granting tax-exempt status to organizations that lobby. Again, either policy would be fair; we need to pick one and apply it equally.
That’s why I’m astonished that the ACLU would advocate discriminating in favor of one religion and against another. That’s a real scoop. Please provide more info on that.
Well what do you know? I agree with you Nobody. I don’t advocate politics from the pulpit, but it should be an even handed and fair thing all around. All religions should be exempt, or none. This is where the biased hatred for Christianity from the ACLU comes in.
The new design really does look good. The color scheme is nice choice and pleasing to the eyes. Nice job.
“Politics” and the pulpit cannot be separated, as your post points out…the Catholic Church was attacked by the ACLU because of its position on abortion, which the ACLU considers a political issue, while I consider it a religious issue…who decides?
I preached a message called “It Doesn’t Take a Village” in which I happened to take Hillary Clinton’s views to task…To me, it was not political, it was about a certain worldview and my opposition to it…The government expects prayer and the Ten Commandments to be kept out of their buildings, they can darn well stay out of God’s building.
Amen Mak! And nice to see you. What I mean by politics from the pulpit would be actual endorsement of a candidate. You are correct that “politics” can’t be seperated. Many political issues are also moral issues. A church should be able to encourage people to vote based on their morals, and the teachings of the Church.
At the risk of ruining the start of a beautiful relationship, I respectfully disagree with Jay’s opposition to politics from the pulpit. I think Makrothumeo has the better stand here. Political issues are often moral issues as well, and we should all - religious leaders as well as anyone else - speak out.
Of course, the idea that government would change someone’s tax status - in effect, impose a fine - EXPLICITLY based on the content of his speech just seems wrong, wrong, wrong. And incidentally, it would seem to violate the 1st Amendment.
But what to do about it? Making everyone subject to the same tax code, regardless of their speech, would solve the problem. Of course, everyone who currently gets tax-exempt status would hate this, including many wonderful organizations, religious and otherwise. But the alternative would be to greatly expand tax exemptions for lobbyists. That hardly seems right, either.
I never doubted Jay’s support for even-handedness, but I appreciate him saying it.
Whoops, Jay beat me to it.
Never mind….
Finally, kudos for Jay. It takes a strong person to speak up even when you know that nobody.really agrees with you.
I had to read that a couple of times before I realized you were referring to yourself “nobody.really”.
As always, great pot gang.
I’m up, I did mine on “Religious Liberty” as well.
RR
I agree with you Jay, and you know what I do? I NEVER mention a candidate from the pulpit…I say, “You all know what we believe…we believe babies are babies, not just discardable tissue; we believe marriage is between a man and a woman; we believe that Christ is Lord, not the Supreme Court or the Congress–now go out there on election day and vote your beliefs.” No need to mention a candidate. Everybody knows what to do.
It seems they are also fine with personal beliefs on license plates, like the one in the news that says its owner is gay. But would they be just as fine with a Christian plate?
Great post. We need to get rid of this hypocritical organization.
The ACLU’s Fight for… “Freedom”?
I saw this noble magnet on the back of a pickup the other day:
Oddly, this sticker was placed alongside:
I just sort of stared speechless awhile at the cynical justaposition here: America: Great. ACLU: Not so great.
Then I got to thinking abo…
What part of the following argument is hypocritical?: No religious organization should be tax exempt, but as long as they are, no specific religion is more entitled to tax-exempt status than any other?
You don’t give enough details about the Providence case to determine whether this is the argument made by the ACLU in this instance.
You really don’t understand the ACLU’s position on religious liberty if you think they’re opposed to religion or Chrisitianity. Maybe this page will clear up some of the confusion.
http://www.aclu.org/ReligiousLiberty/ReligiousLiberty.cfm?ID=17598&c=38
Very nice blog.
I think you all fail to realize the point. The ACLU has been fighting inequality in the tax-exempt status rules.
As long as the government grants tax-exempt status to some religions and not others, the ACLU will defend the right of the others for equal treatment.
The fair solution is, obviously, to grant tax-exempt status to all or to none.
Your “ACLU HATES CHRISTIANITY” rants only serve to make your arguments look all the more ridiculous. The ACLU has defended the rights of Christians as often or MORE often than they have of other churches. Unlike you, the ACLU does NOT discriminate against who they fight for — all that’s necessary for the ACLU to defend you is for you to be denied your constitutional rights.
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Stop the ACLU - Beatin…
[...] #5. The ACLU is anti-Christian. The list is endless on this one. Under the guise of “seperation of Church and State”, the ACLU have made a name for theirself on being rabidly anti-Christian. This is one area where they are most hypocritical. The oppose tax exemptions for all churches, but fight for them for Wiccans. They are against Christianity in school, but oddly remain silent as our children are taught to be Muslims. Whether its baby Jesus, ten commandments, or tiny crosses on county seals, the ACLU will be there to secularize America, and rewrite our history. [...]
Top Ten List of Why the ACLU needs to be Stopped
Crossposted from Stop The ACLU Stop The ACLU was started on February 9th, 2004. We started with high hopes, and we realized we were facing a goliath. There were many reasons why we thought the ACLU needed to be countered,…
[...] #5. The ACLU is anti-Christian. The list is endless on this one. Under the guise of “seperation of Church and State”, the ACLU have made a name for theirself on being rabidly anti-Christian. This is one area where they are most hypocritical. The oppose tax exemptions for all churches, but fight for them for Wiccans. They are against Christianity in school, but oddly remain silent as our children are taught to be Muslims. Whether its baby Jesus, ten commandments, or tiny crosses on county seals, the ACLU will be there to secularize America, and rewrite our history. [...]
[...] #5. The ACLU is anti-Christian. The list is endless on this one. Under the guise of “seperation of Church and State”, the ACLU have made a name for theirself on being rabidly anti-Christian. This is one area where they are most hypocritical. The oppose tax exemptions for all churches, but fight for them for Wiccans. They are against Christianity in school, but oddly remain silent as our children are taught to be Muslims. Whether its baby Jesus, ten commandments, or tiny crosses on county seals, the ACLU will be there to secularize America, and rewrite our history. [...]
[...] 11/10/2005 5:56 pm  -  Posted by Jay777 Top Ten Reasons To Stop The ACLU Stop The ACLU was started on February 9th, 2004. We started with high hopes, and we realized we were facing a goliath. There were many reasons why we thought the ACLU needed to be countered, and they are numerous. We wanted to provide a way to inform the public of the ACLU’s agenda, as the MSM sugar coated it. We wanted to be a central database for people to gather, exchange ideas, and get actively involved in real ways of stopping them. It is a monumental task, exhausting, time consuming, and often frustrating. But it is a fight worth fighting. We would be nothing without our supporters. To all of you, we appreciate the continued support. We have called you to action and you have answered. We raised $2,500.00 for an ad in the Washington Times, and I want to announce at this time that the check is in the mail as of Wednessday, Nov 8th. The ad should appear within the next two weeks. When it does, it will be scanned, and put up at Stop The ACLU for all to see. We will call you to action again, and again, and it is good to know that you will answer the call because you believe in this cause. The ACLU have been laying low lately, but that is no reason to grow complacent. It is now that we should prepare to counter them. The Christmas season is around the corner, and the ACLU will be full force. Get involved in Operation Nativity. There are many reasons to stop the ACLU. For this blogburst I decided to list my top ten list. 10. The ACLU was founded by Communist, with communist ideals, communist goals, and they continue to impose a Communist like agenda on America daily. The founder of the ACLU, Roger Baldwin stated clearly… My chief aversion is the system of greed, private profit, privilege and violence which makes up the control of the world today, and which has brought it to the tragic crisis of unprecedented hunger and unemployment…Therefore, I am for Socialism, disarmament and ultimately, for the abolishing of the State itself…I seek the social ownership of property, the abolition of the propertied class and sole control of those who produce wealth. Communism is the goal.” 9. The ACLU does not believe in the Second Amendment. ACLU POLICY “The ACLU agrees with the Supreme Court’s long-standing interpretation of the Second Amendment [as set forth in the 1939 case, U.S. v. Miller] that the individual’s right to bear arms applies only to the preservation or efficiency of a well-regulated militia. Except for lawful police and military purposes, the possession of weapons by individuals is not constitutionally protected. Therefore, there is no constitutional impediment to the regulation of firearms.”ACLU Policy #47 #8. Their outright hatred of the Boyscouts. They are currently doing everything in their power to hurt this organization. They attacked their free speech right to exclude gays, and are threatening schools, and fighting in court to get their charters shut down. The oppose the military supporting them, and will sue the pants off any school that attempts to charter them. #7. The ACLU are pro-death. Not only is the ACLU Pro-abortion, it’s the ACLU’s top priority. It most definitely takes a backseat to free speech for the ACLU. As a matter of fact, the ACLU has fought against the free speech rights of those that oppose it. If its abortion or euthanasia, as long as its pro-death you can count on the ACLU to support it. The only exception to the ACLU’s pro-death stance, is if it is a convicted criminal; in this case they are against death. #6. The ACLU advocate open borders. Not only have the ACLU opposed the Minute Men, a group who are simply exercizing their freedom of speech, protesting and stepping up where the government is failing, but they have helped illegals cross the border. #5. The ACLU is anti-Christian. The list is endless on this one. Under the guise of “seperation of Church and State”, the ACLU have made a name for theirself on being rabidly anti-Christian. This is one area where they are most hypocritical. They oppose tax exemptions for all churches, but fight for them for Wiccans. They are against Christianity in school, but oddly remain silent as our children are taught to be Muslims. Whether its baby Jesus, ten commandments, or tiny crosses on county seals, the ACLU will be there to secularize America, and rewrite our history. #4. The ACLU Opposes National Security. The ACLU have opposed almost every effort in the arena of national security. From the bird flu to bag searches, the ACLU have been against it. No matter what kind of search someone tries to do to protect people, the ACLU have proved they are against them across the board. Its kind of ironic that they don’t practice the principles they preach. Take a walk into the NYCLU’s Manhattan headquarters - which it shares with other organizations - and you’ll find a sign warning visitors that all bags are subject to search. #3. The ACLU Defend the enemy. They have a long history of this one. They defended the P.L.O. in 1985. They defended Quadafi in the 1980’s. And they continue today. They have told Gitmo detainees they have the right to remain silent, as in not talking to interrogators. One issue that really disturbs me is their refusal of funds from organizations such as the United Way that were concerned the money would be used to support terrorism. In October of 2004, the ACLU turned down $1.15 million in funding from two of it’s most generous and loyal contributors, the Ford and Rockefeller foundations, saying new anti-terrorism restrictions demanded by the institutions make it unable to accept their funds. “The Ford Foundation now bars recipients of its funds from engaging in any activity that “promotes violence, terrorism, bigotry, or the destruction of any state.” The Rockefeller Foundation’s provisions state that recipients of its funds may not “directly or indirectly engage in, promote, or support other organizations or individuals who engage in or promote terrorist activity.” #2. The ACLU supports child porn distribution and child molesters like NAMBLA. As legislative counsel for the ACLU in 1985, Barry Lynn told the U.S. Attorney General’s Commission on Pornography (of which Focus on the Family President Dr. James C. Dobson was a member) that child pornography was protected by the First Amendment. While production of child porn could be prevented by law, he argued, its distribution could not be. There is no doubt the The ACLU are perverting the Constitution. #1. The ACLU fufills its agenda using my tax money. What more can I say on this one? There are countless reasons the ACLU needs to be stopped. So don’t just stand by and complain, do something. Get involved. Here are some ways you can get involved to help us stop the ACLU. Support and donate to organizations fighting them in Court. Here are the ones at the forefront. ACLJ Alliance Defense Fund Thomas More Law Center Join the Stop The ACLU Coalition Help us write Churches to get involved. Tell your Congress to support the Public Expression of Relgion Act of 2005. This legislation seeks to limit attorney’s fees in Establishment Clause cases to injunctive relief only. SIGN THE PETITION TO STOP TAXPAYER FUNDING OF THE ACLU Crossposted from Stop The ACLU This was a production of Stop The ACLU Blogburst. If you would like to join us, please email Jay at Jay@stoptheaclu.com or Gribbit at GribbitR@gmail.com. You will be added to our mailing list and blogroll. Over 115 blogs already onboard. [...]
[...] King’s political goals of true equality was greatly benefited by the involvment of his Church. Today’s ACLU, would be opposed to this. [...]
[...] Such as: The Legalization of Child Porn Distribution Defending The Enemy Tax Exemptions For Wiccans, but not for Christian Churches Open Borders Opposition To The Second Amendment [...]
[...] Freedom of religion would be eliminated. Churches would lose their tax exempt status, completely pushed out of the public sphere, and forced to comply with international laws that compromise their core values. In spring 2003, a group from the United Nations Human Rights Commission, of which former ACLU officials Paul Hoffman and John Shattuck are a part, met and discussed a resolution to add “sexual orientation” to the UNHRC’s discrimination list. Homosexual activists at the meeting called for a “showdown with religion,” clearly intending to use international law to silence religious speech that does not affirm homosexual behavior. Source [...]
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[...] We don’t have to imagine, the ACLU’s history shows us. They would challenge that Church’s tax exempt status. “In 1970, the year after the ACLU issued its first policy opposing the tax exempt status for churches; it accepted the advice of church and state extremist Leo Pfeffer and drafted a brief opposing tax exemptions in Waltz v. Tax Commission. In 1987, the ACLU Foundation and the New York Civil Liberties Union filed an amicus brief in support of Abortion Rights Mobilization to secure standing in a suit challenging the tax exempt status of the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church was charged with violating its tax-exempt status by taking a stand against abortion.”Source [...]
[...] We don’t have to imagine, the ACLU’s history shows us. They would challenge that Church’s tax exempt status. “In 1970, the year after the ACLU issued its first policy opposing the tax exempt status for churches; it accepted the advice of church and state extremist Leo Pfeffer and drafted a brief opposing tax exemptions in Waltz v. Tax Commission. In 1987, the ACLU Foundation and the New York Civil Liberties Union filed an amicus brief in support of Abortion Rights Mobilization to secure standing in a suit challenging the tax exempt status of the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church was charged with violating its tax-exempt status by taking a stand against abortion.”Source [...]
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You cannot have it both ways, and the ACLU is merely showing this by saying “OK, if ‘churches’ get tax exempt status, then ALL activities done under the guise of spiritual belief deserve the same, including pagans, and wiccans” In truth NONE of these ‘religious’ groups should impose tax liabilities on non believers. As an atheist myself, why should I have to pay taxes for fire protection for a multi-million dollar cathedral, or provide police Sunday or Saturday pay to direct traffic in and out of this facility? I should not, that is why. It is supporting the establishment of a church…period. If the believers truly believe, that is their right. it is also their right to pay for what they get from society. So if a cult of Mormons, or a coven of Catholics moves in to a town, you should not burden the non-believers, (those who can live without an imaginary friend/savior) with the civic support services, like sidewalk maintenance, snow removal from public streets, fire protection, and LOSS of taxable property often in the nicer parts of town. Walmart pays taxes. A cathedral taking up 20 acres should too.
Thank you for reading, and I support your right to oppose my ideas, please allow me the same courtesy.
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A lot to agree with….
Yes, if one religion is not tax-exempt, none should be. And none should be.
But….
If one religion is tax-exempt - and way too many are - then they all should be.
So why not wicca? They probably don’t even run bingo in the basement.
Not a lawyer but seems to me one argues a single case focused on its merits.
One does not stifle the case one is assigned to because another part of the
organization is working in a somewhat different direction. As if all US law
was consistent. What a crock.
The ACLU is not helpful in a lot of areas. This is one of them.