A little something I threw together for my English Comp II class. Free to use with attribution: Michael L. Hoenig (I received significantly good comments from the instructor; the presentation was not graded...) Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…” So begins the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America. The “wall of separation” between the Church and the State enshrined by this clause currently provides a basis for religious institutions’ exemption from taxation. By strict interpretation of this “Establishment Clause,” however, this exemption is unconstitutional. Although it appears to establish non-taxation, it specifically guarantees no institution shall be favored over any other through any formal recognition or lack thereof. By creating laws which specifically exempt institutes of religion from taxation, Congress has made laws “respecting” all religious institutions over individual Americans, their businesses, and their properties. Whereas taxation serves “to provide for the common defense,” these exemptions fail to protect the people from the abuses of religious organizations in American politics. Throughout Europe’s history, religious institutions sought to impose their will on entire nations; the Establishment Clause was incorporated to protect the United States from repeating that history. Over the last two-hundred and thirty-seven years, however, these tax-exempt institutions have not only benefited from the other constitutional protections, they have established limited control over our Democracy. In order to live up to our Founding Fathers’ ideals, Congress must break those bonds and indeed “make no law...” The Church must be taxed, not “respected.”
Posted on: Mon, 18 Nov 2013 01:51:34 +0000
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