Tax-exempt temptation

October 12, 2006 · Filed Under theology

The tax-exempt status that American churches enjoy is neither necessary nor good.

There are political reasons for this, not the least of which are outlined in a recent World Magazine article (Pulpit Politics, Oct 07, 2006). While I don’t think that the pulpit is a place for partisan political stumping, neither do I think that the IRS should be policing what is being said from the pulpit. That the whole tax-exemption issue gives the IRS an avenue for doing just that is an indication that tax-exempt status is not worth the trouble.

There are also more practical and/or theological reasons as well. An example of what I mean can be found by checking out an article that I found via CrossFeed Religious News — Religion-Based Tax Breaks: Housing to Paychecks to Books. I find something vaguely distasteful about the efforts to get churches and church workers out from under any and/or every tax burden possible. I’m definitely not a proponent of the grotesque taxation that exists to fund our bloated governments and the wrong-headed socialistic social programs that have run amok over the past century. I am, however, in favor of honorably executing our vocations as citizens, and doing that which is reasonably expected of us — you know, the whole “Render unto Caesar” thing. We are, after all, citizens of the Left-Hand Kingdom.

Churches & church workers, indeed all Christians, are called to be in the world, but not of the world. I would offer that tax-exempt status is a temptation that lures us into being of the world, not merely in it. For example, it’s quite sad to see the way that the LCMS has risked doctrinal orthodoxy in order to play around the edges of IRS regulations wrt who all is considered to be a “minister” for tax purposes. The OHM has been devalued just to gain a supposed tax advantage for LCMS teachers & other non-occupants of the OHM. It’s a misguided strategy at best, and a crassly (and worldly) deceitful one at worst. It ought not to be.

Such a change (i.e., the removal of tax-exemptions) would certainly have repercussions, not the least of which would be the need for more careful (and difficult) stewardship on the part of churches and the laity. Hard, and quite possibly painful, choices would have to be made. I’m not convinced that this would be a bad thing, however. And it would certainly lessen the potential sword that the state holds over the church, in terms of political and/or “hate” speech.

Discuss…

-ghp

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Tags: church, finances, history, lcms, society