The New York Times just posted the third installment on "how American religious organizations benefit from an increasingly accommodating government." All three of these articles are ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL. Read the latest article here. Read Part 1 here. And read Part 2 here.

"The management of Holy Cross Village at Notre Dame, left, a retirement community in South Bend, Ind., is arguing in court that the development should be exempt from property taxes. The county tax board of appeals disagrees. At Hermitage Estates, right, not far from Holy Cross Village, residents pay an average of about $2,300 in property taxes. “So maybe we should get ourselves a property tax exemption,” says one resident, a member of the county tax appeals board."

"Holy Land Experience, a biblical theme park in Orlando, Fla., went to Gov. Jeb Bush and the Florida Legislature to win an exemption after county authorities determined that the park should be taxable."

The Times prints Part 2 of their series on "how American religious organizations benefit from an increasingly accommodating government." Read it here. Read Part 1 here. [Hat tip The Rev].

"Mary Rosati, a novice training to be a Roman Catholic nun, was dismissed by her order after she was found to have cancer."

"The Rev. John Paul Hankins, 73, was forced to retire from the pulpit of his Stony Brook, N.Y., church. He alleges age discrimination in a lawsuit, but judges will almost never agree to hear such complaints by clergy members against a religious employer."

The 11th Commandment: Thou Shalt Not Pay Taxes

From NY Times

At any moment, state inspectors can step uninvited into one of the three child care centers that Ethel White runs in Auburn, Ala., to make sure they meet state requirements intended to ensure that the children are safe. There must be continuing training for the staff. Her nurseries must have two sinks, one exclusively for food preparation. All cabinets must have safety locks. Medications for the children must be kept under lock and key, and refrigerated.

The Rev. Ray Fuson of the Harvest Temple Church of God in Montgomery, Ala., does not have to worry about unannounced state inspections at the day care center his church runs. Alabama exempts church day care programs from state licensing requirements, which were tightened after almost a dozen children died in licensed and unlicensed day care centers in the state in two years.

The differences do not end there. As an employer, Ms. White must comply with the civil rights laws; if employees feel mistreated, they can take the center to court. Religious organizations, including Pastor Fuson’s, are protected by the courts from almost all lawsuits filed by their ministers or other religious staff members, no matter how unfairly those employees think they have been treated.

And if you are curious about how Ms. White’s nonprofit center uses its public grants and donations, read the financial statements she is required to file each year with the Internal Revenue Service. There are no I.R.S. reports from Harvest Temple. Federal law does not require churches to file them.

Far more than an hourlong stretch of highway separates these two busy, cheerful day care centers. Ms. White’s center operates in the world occupied by most American organizations. As a religious ministry, Pastor Fuson’s center does not.

In recent years, many politicians and commentators have cited what they consider a nationwide “war on religion” that exposes religious organizations to hostility and discrimination. But such organizations -- from mainline Presbyterian and Methodist churches to mosques to synagogues to Hindu temples -- enjoy an abundance of exemptions from regulations and taxes. And the number is multiplying rapidly.

Continue reading "As Exemptions Grow, Religion Outweighs Regulation" »

As head of the National Association of Evangelicals and pastor of the largest megachurch in Colorado Springs, you'd think Ted Haggard would know better than to blatantly campaign for candidates. But when you talk to George W. Bush every Monday morning, as Pastor Ted does, we guess you're above the law. From the Colorado Springs Independent:

There's a lot of praying going on over in House District 18. State Rep. Michael Merrifield's praying, his opponent Kyle Fisk is praying, and so, too, is Pastor Ted Haggard, the charismatic leader of the largest church in the state.

But by now, the Fisk campaign might be praying that a letter, written by Haggard on behalf of Fisk, doesn't backfire on the candidate.

Earlier this month, Haggard sent the message, on his personal letterhead, to thousands of people urging them to send money to, volunteer to help, and pray for Fisk, who is challenging Merrifield in the district that includes part of downtown Colorado Springs, its west side and Manitou Springs — "the one area in El Paso County that is not currently well represented," Haggard wrote.

How that one area is not being well represented is unclear, though it might simply be the fact that Merrifield, who is running for his third term, is the only Democrat in the county's 13-member legislative delegation.

In his letter Haggard did make it clear that his support for Fisk is as a "private citizen" and not as the pastor of New Life Church. (The Internal Revenue Service prohibits pastors from endorsing political candidates from the pulpit.) Fisk currently works for Haggard as an associate pastor at Boulder Street Church, an outreach of New Life Church, and previously was executive director of the Colorado Springs-based National Association of Evangelicals, of which Haggard is president.

"I am not writing you today as the pastor of New Life Church, but as a private citizen who is a friend and employer of Kyle Fisk," Haggard wrote. "I am very proud of Kyle Fisk ... He is a competent man who is well informed and conversant in the subtleties of American government and politics. I like this guy a lot."

Read Haggard's letter

For his part, Merrifield calls Haggard's letter "pretty sleazy."

Related: Must See You Tube Video: The Duke Of Haggard Loses His Shit

From LA Times

Churches Putting Town Out of Business
Stafford, Texas, has 51 tax-exempt religious institutions and wants no more: 'Somebody's got to pay for police, fire and schools.'

STAFFORD, Texas — They are not the words one expects to hear from a politician or a Southerner, and Leonard Scarcella is both: "Our city has an excessive number of churches."

Scarcella is mayor of this Houston-area community, which has 51 churches and other religious institutions packed into its 7 square miles.

With some 300 undeveloped, potentially revenue-producing acres left in Stafford, officials are scrambling to find a legal way to keep more tax-exempt churches from building here.

"With federal laws, you can't just say, 'We're not going to have any more churches,' " Scarcella said. "We respect the Constitution, but 51 of anything is too much." [read it all]