• Rick Warren’s Saddleback Church takes in over $35 Million in contributions per year and doesn’t pay a penny in taxes.
• His parishoners also deducted those contributions from their own taxes, and Rick Warren himself pays no tax on his salary from the church.
• Pat Robertson’s “Operation Blessing” group received a $500,000 government grant to give to churches affected by Hurricane Katrina.
• Thousands of people donate clothing and household items to the Salvation Army (whose mission is to “preach the gospel of Jesus Christ”) and receive tax deductions in the millions of dollars each year.

What do all these groups have in common? Christianity, of course. In spite of the Constitution’s prohibition against “law respecting the establishment of religion” the U.S. government provides billions of dollars in subsidies and tax relief to Christian churches every year.

Their best-kept secret is that you don’t have to be Christian to take advantage of the same benefits they do!

Buried in the tax code are the words:

There is no single definition of the word “church” for tax purposes… church includes mosques, temples, synagogues, and other forms of religious organization.

And although they will only begrudgingly admit it, this includes covens, circles, groves, orders, lodges, and other pagan and magical groups. So the first thing to keep in mind is that anywhere the IRS uses the term “church”, your group may also be included.

Coming Next:

• What benefits can I take advantage of as a member of a spiritual group?
• How do I know whether my group qualifies as a “church”?
• Does my group have to register with the IRS as a “church”?

Stay tuned to this blog for these articles coming soon!