"Dee D. Flint" wrote:

"Dwight Stewart" wrote:
Why limit any exclusion to just the
church building, parking lot, and parish?
Since churches have been running schools,
colleges, homeless shelters, women and
youth shelters, food kitchens, youth camps
and sports activities, hospitals, nursing
homes, and so on, for many years (some
long before this country was created and
each requiring buildings, land, or equipment),
such a limit would have a serious impact on
many traditional church activities.

If we are going all the way on separation of
church and state, why should they get any
special status beyond what other non-profit
organization would get?


There is very little special special status involved. Every non-profit
organization can write off the costs for buildings, land, facilities,
equipment, personnel, and so on. Any remaining special status, and again
there is very little, is covered by the "free exercise thereof" clause of
the First Amendment - "Congress shall make no law respecting the
establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free excercise thereof..."

In my opinion, we cannot "go all the way on separation of church and
state" without violating the "free excercise thereof" clause. If anyone were
to argue to ignore the "free excercise thereof" clause, others could just as
easily argue to ignore the "establishment of religion" clause. Luckily, both
clauses exist and people who truly believe in the Bill of Rights should
honor and defend both. Many people are not doing so today.


Dwight Stewart (W5NET)

http://www.qsl.net/w5net/