| Topic: |
Religions > Bible |
| User: |
"martus" |
| Date: |
24 Feb 2004 02:27:36 AM |
| Object: |
Capitulaion of churches to government whims? |
Marriage Changes May Shake Churches' Tax Exemptions
By Robert B. Bluey
CNSNews.com Staff Writer
February 23, 2004
(CNSNews.com) - Prominent conservatives are warning that the debate
over civil marriage could soon move into the religious arena and
change the way churches treat marriage.
Same-sex couples are already looking ahead to May when they can obtain
civil marriage licenses in Massachusetts. And just in the last two
weeks, officials in San Francisco have handed out marriage licenses to
more than 3,000 homosexual couples - allegedly in violation of the
California Constitution and a voter-approved referendum.
Religious marriage poses a different set of circumstances since
churches and similar institutions are protected by the Constitution.
But conservatives of various religious denominations told CNSNews.com
that threats remain, including the possibility that churches could be
stripped of their tax-exempt status.
Richard D. Land, president and chief executive of the Southern Baptist
Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, said changes are
probably in store for some denominations, whether they are adopted
voluntarily or imposed by the government.
"If political correctness wins the struggle for hearts and minds,"
Land said, "then you may see tremendous pressure to take away the
tax-exempt status of churches and denominations and organizations that
refuse to fully affirm and accept the homosexual lifestyle."
Land pointed to the growing split within the Episcopalian, Methodist
and Presbyterian churches over homosexual clergy and same-sex
relationships. Other faiths, including the Roman Catholics and
Southern Baptists, aren't likely to change their ways anytime soon, he
said.
Still, there are growing fears in Catholic circles, said Raymond L.
Flynn, a former U.S. ambassador to the Vatican who also served as a
Democratic mayor of Boston. He said there is a "very distinct
possibility" that homosexuals will set their sights on redefining
religious marriage.
"The issue of legalizing same-sex marriages in Massachusetts and
California raises the question: Does this mean there will be cases
brought against the Catholic Church for discrimination? I think it is
the next step," said Flynn, who heads Your Catholic Voice, an activist
group. "I don't think people will stop until the whole sacred
institution of marriage crumbles."
Any threat to religious marriage between a man and a woman remains
hypothetical today. But even homosexuals have acknowledged that the
developments in Massachusetts and San Francisco arose quicker than
they anticipated.
Building a movement
The Metropolitan Community Churches - boasting 40,000 members and 300
churches worldwide - are best known for embracing same-sex
relationships. Their leader, the Rev. Troy D. Perry, has said,
"Anything less than full marriage equality is settling for
second-class status."
Other groups like Soulforce, which campaigns against "spiritual
violence perpetuated by religious policies," are working inside
denominations to promote change. Its spokeswoman, Laura Montgomery
Rutt, said parishioners are increasingly talking about same-sex
relationships.
"I believe churches are allowed to discriminate and be as bigoted as
they want to be," she said. "However, our mission is to make
homophobia as unacceptable in the churches today as racism is. And
when you look at the history of the churches around segregation and
slavery, you'll see they were wrong then too."
But just because churches might discriminate doesn't mean the
government should get involved, Montgomery Rutt said. She noted that
the Catholic Church often refuses to marry divorcees, while
conservative Jewish denominations frown upon mixed-religion marriages.
"Religion has thrived in America because we have freedom of religion,"
she said. "The government should never be allowed to interfere in the
church unless they have some compelling state interest."
The Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund has led the way in
litigating cases for homosexuals, but Michael Adams, director of
education and public affairs, said the organization has no interest in
bringing a lawsuit against a religious institution.
"Every church and religious denomination gets to decide for itself
what rules it wishes to pursue, so I think it's fair to say there's
zero chance of any legal action like that," Adams said. "And if there
was legal action, it would clearly be unsuccessful."
Adams said he wasn't aware of any homosexual advocacy group
contemplating such a challenge. Changes would have to come internally,
he said, from a church's parishioners.
Losing tax exemptions
Although no legal challenges appear imminent, conservatives noted how
rapidly things have changed already. Allan C. Carlson, the Family
Research Council's distinguished fellow for family policy studies,
said he fears churches could face threats to their tax-exempt status.
"I think there's vulnerability there," said Carlson, who is also
president of the pro-family Howard Center in Illinois. "If same-sex
marriage was deemed a fundamental human right, would churches still be
allowed to ban such things and also claim a tax exemption? I don't
know."
The best-known case of the Internal Revenue Service revoking a
non-profit's tax exemption came in 1970 when Bob Jones University lost
that status because it wouldn't admit black students. The Supreme
Court in 1983 refused to restore the university's tax-exempt status,
citing the fact that Bob Jones maintained a ban on interracial dating.
The university has since changed its policies and is now exempt.
Similar calls have been directed at the Boy Scouts for its exclusion
of homosexuals. But nothing has come to fruition since the Supreme
Court backed the Boy Scouts' freedom of association rights in 2000.
Instead, several troops have been excluded from charitable programs or
subjected to hostility.
Robert H. Knight, director of the Culture and Family Institute at
Concerned Women for America, predicted that homosexuals would try to
chip away at the tax-exempt status of churches that reject same-sex
relationships.
"The ultimate goal is to abolish marriage and to create a social order
in which only the whims of individuals are fully protected," Knight
said. "In order to do this, the church will have to be silenced."
Supporters of the Federal Marriage Amendment said its addition to the
U.S. Constitution was the best way to counter any threats that might
arise. Otherwise, said Matt Daniels, president of the Alliance for
Marriage, churches and other non-profits could find themselves running
afoul of a judge's order.
"The institution of marriage," Daniels said, "is so foundational to
many areas of policy and law that it is inevitable that the
destruction of the legal status of marriage by the courts will
inevitably have legal consequences for all sorts of organizations that
continue to adhere to the concept of marriage as a union of a male and
a female."
Not so fast
As the former dean of Catholic University Law School and now a
constitutional law professor at Pepperdine University, Douglas W.
Kmiec said institutions have faced challenges in the past by adhering
to their religious doctrine on matters like sexual orientation.
But Kmiec said he hoped it would be a long time before a court
infringed on the religious freedom of churches. Still, he pointed to
the troubles facing groups like the Boy Scouts.
"Multiple entities have withdrawn preferred campgrounds, they have
refused to allow Scouts to use public facilities and they have refused
to allow the Scouts to participate in charitable drives," he said.
"All of those things are deeply unconstitutional and wrongful in the
sense that they disregard the Scouts' freedom of association that the
Supreme Court vindicated.
"They would be especially wrongful if they were duplicated with regard
to a church that refused to conduct a same-sex marriage," he added.
"Because not only then would the freedom of association be at issue,
but the free exercise of religion would be at issue."
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End times:
http://www.geocities.com/mart1963/
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| User: "Mark Fox" |
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| Title: Re: Capitulaion of churches to government whims? |
25 Feb 2004 05:57:10 PM |
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(martus) wrote...
Marriage Changes May Shake Churches' Tax Exemptions
By Robert B. Bluey
CNSNews.com Staff Writer
February 23, 2004
(CNSNews.com) - Prominent conservatives are warning that the debate
over civil marriage could soon move into the religious arena and
change the way churches treat marriage.
Losing tax exemptions
Although no legal challenges appear imminent, conservatives noted how
rapidly things have changed already. Allan C. Carlson, the Family
Research Council's distinguished fellow for family policy studies,
said he fears churches could face threats to their tax-exempt status.
The best-known case of the Internal Revenue Service revoking a
non-profit's tax exemption came in 1970 when Bob Jones University lost
that status because it wouldn't admit black students. The Supreme
Court in 1983 refused to restore the university's tax-exempt status,
citing the fact that Bob Jones maintained a ban on interracial dating.
The university has since changed its policies and is now exempt.
Gosh, I'm sure glad those "churches" don't waste any valuable time
worrying about Jesus' message of salvation to all people but instead
choose to spend their time worrying about how to maximize their
profits and reduce their taxes. Yea! Thats CHRISTIAN MORALITY AT ITS
BEST!!!
Also, never mind that Jesus said "render onto Ceasar what is Cesar's"
and keep trying to avoid paying your fair share of taxes. Yea! thats
being a responsible member of the community, avoid paying your fair
share of taxes. Let the guy down the street carry the load for you.
Keep up the good work, Christians! You make me proud. (Not.)
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| User: "Ninure Saunders" |
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| Title: Re: Capitulaion of churches to government whims? |
24 Feb 2004 07:24:24 AM |
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In article <511a49a.0402240027.540eac5@posting.google.com>,
marttila69@hotmail.com (martus) wrote:
-Marriage Changes May Shake Churches' Tax Exemptions
-By Robert B. Bluey
-CNSNews.com Staff Writer
-February 23, 2004
-
-(CNSNews.com) - Prominent conservatives are warning that the debate
-over civil marriage could soon move into the religious arena and
-change the way churches treat marriage.
-
-Which of course is pure BS.
Tho it is not illegal under secular law for divorced couples ro remarry,
the Catholic Church is not required to offer their "sacrament of
marriage" to couples where one or both persons have been divorced.
Tho innter-racial marriage is pe5rfectly legal in secular law, no church
or clergy person that feels that intteracil maruage is "against God's
law" is forced by secular law to perform mattiage ceremonies for mixed
race couples.
Churches, clergy, rabbis, priests may refuse to preform marriage
cermonies to people who are not members of their church/faith, who do not
meet their religious standards, for just about any reason..and they
regularly do without breaking secular law.
To imply otherwise as an agruement in the discussion about same-sex
marriage is at fear mongering and/or hate-filled lying and deceit.
It is hardly an example of anything remotely resembling "christian morality".
Ninure Saunders aka Rainbow Christian
http://Rainbow-Christian.tk
The Lord is my Shepherd and He knows I'm Gay
http://Ninure-Saunders.tk
My Yahoo Group
http://Ninure.tk
My Online Diary
http://www.ninure.deardiary.net
-
Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches
http://www.MCCchurch.org
To send e-mail, remove nohate from address
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