Technically, churches are supposed to stay out of politics for the privilege of being tax-exempt. If they are taxed then many would demand to be able to legally get involved in politics. And, since the advent of the mega-church, that would not be a good thing.
However, on principle I do think that churches should contribute to the society in which they live by paying taxes. Some people will equate them with non-profit groups who are also tax-exempt, but churches don't provide any services for the public good. They may have "sister" programs that provide some services, but they could remain tax-exempt as long as they remain secular in nature.
If I had my way, I would make purely religious organizations subject to taxes AND keep them away from politics. It would take a constitutional amendment because of free speech issues and Supreme Court rulings that overturned regulation of political contributions. But, I think it would be worth it in order to keep church and state separated in wording that's clear.
As far as the economy goes, it would actually help. It would reduce government deficits (or their rate of increase), which would calm and stabilize markets. The amount of money from each church would be minor, so each church wouldn't be hit hard. There could even be a threshold where the tax kicks in so very small churches don't get hurt.
As far as society goes, it would be hard to predict. On one hand, people could feel more connected to society in having to pay to help support it. For conservatives, this should be understood because it is they who so regularly claim that being given something for free means that it's not respected and gets abused. If that's true, then churches should contribute so they don't feel like freeloaders. On the other hand, if there is a backlash where church people claim that if they pay taxes they should also take over the government, that would be awful. I'm sure both sentiments would emerge but I don't know which would prevail.
However, on principle I do think that churches should contribute to the society in which they live by paying taxes. Some people will equate them with non-profit groups who are also tax-exempt, but churches don't provide any services for the public good. They may have "sister" programs that provide some services, but they could remain tax-exempt as long as they remain secular in nature.
If I had my way, I would make purely religious organizations subject to taxes AND keep them away from politics. It would take a constitutional amendment because of free speech issues and Supreme Court rulings that overturned regulation of political contributions. But, I think it would be worth it in order to keep church and state separated in wording that's clear.
As far as the economy goes, it would actually help. It would reduce government deficits (or their rate of increase), which would calm and stabilize markets. The amount of money from each church would be minor, so each church wouldn't be hit hard. There could even be a threshold where the tax kicks in so very small churches don't get hurt.
As far as society goes, it would be hard to predict. On one hand, people could feel more connected to society in having to pay to help support it. For conservatives, this should be understood because it is they who so regularly claim that being given something for free means that it's not respected and gets abused. If that's true, then churches should contribute so they don't feel like freeloaders. On the other hand, if there is a backlash where church people claim that if they pay taxes they should also take over the government, that would be awful. I'm sure both sentiments would emerge but I don't know which would prevail.
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