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From: tim@k.cs.cmu.edu.ARPA (Tim Maroney)
Newsgroups: net.politics,net.religion
Subject: Re: "Tax Supported" Churches.
Message-ID: <584@k.cs.cmu.edu.ARPA>
Date: Thu, 3-Oct-85 15:57:07 EDT
Article-I.D.: k.584
Posted: Thu Oct  3 15:57:07 1985
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Tom, thanks for a thoughtful message on an emotional topic.

I disagree with you very strongly that making churches tax-exempt is respect
for the principle of separation of church and state.  It puts the government
in the position of deciding what is or is not a religion, and is therefore
the very opposite of separation of church and state.  Did you see the
message by Bob Brown telling of a UPI story on 9/27 that said the Senate had
agreed to deny tax-exempt status to Wiccans?  Is that separation of church
and state, or is it the exercise of a discriminatory power?

I feel that all non-profit organizations and corporations should be
tax-exempt, and churches which do not make a profit, but re-invest into
charitable and missionary pursuits, should be considered non-profit
corporations.  To give the government the right to declare a religion "a
non-religion" is a frightening, Orwellian power.
-=-
Tim Maroney, Carnegie-Mellon University, Networking
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