Should politically active churches lose nonprofit status?
Hat Tip: Baltimore Politics Examiner/Adam Meister
Separation of Church and State does not exist in Baltimore
By Adam Meister
Drive around Baltimore and you will notice that there are a lot of churches. Some are in large magnificent buildings while others are in run down storefronts or rowhouses. Most of them are tax exempt in one way or another. Many are considered 501(c)(3) organizations. 501(c)(3) organizations are not allowed to give political endorsements or aid to specific candidates. This law is ignored in Baltimore. Most of the so-called “serious candidates” for local office attend services every Sunday during campaign season. It is an unofficial rule of Baltimore campaigning to befriend as many local pastors (who usually live outside of Baltimore) as possible. They give you the support of their followers and you eventually reward them once you are in power.
I have no problem with churches collecting money to support prayer services and activities that pertain to goodwill, charity, and worship. I do have problems with churches that become huge tax exempt businesses that suck money away from parishioners. I have a problem with religion taking control of government and the elimination of the separation of church and state inside of Baltimore.
Do you find it troubling that supposedly neutral religious institutions yield so much power in a city so desperate for tax revenue?
Here are some interesting links about the power and powerful members of one particular church:
Three new members nominated to the Board by O’Malley
Faith-based Community in Baltimore wants a new role in real estate
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I have a issue with the larger developers and corporations that build in Baltimore
City receiving huge tax breaks from City and State government. All of the
development that is current taking place in Harbor East, the Convention Center
Hotel, Westport, Cherry Hill, etc., all of these developers have received MAJOR
TAX EXEMPTIONS (TIF) from the City and the State. Oriole Park, Ravens Stadium,
the Wyndhm Harbor East, the new Convention Center Hotel, just to name a few
have all been built at the taxpayers expense.
This is the incentive that the government uses to attract builders and developers.
In return, these projects are supposed to bring in new jobs to the area
and a new tax base that the new residences and businesses will bring into the
city and/or state.
What these churches receive amounts to peanuts versus what these large
developers like Cordish, Struver,Eccles and Rouse, JHU, UMB and others receive
from the fat cats in City Hall and Annapolis.
Thank you Nat! I found this interesting article online about Johns Hopkins and how they escape paying 12 million a year in property taxes because of their 501c(3) status. (The article is from ‘04, but I believe the numbers are still relevant even if not accurate down to the dollar.)
http://www.nathanielturner.com/robertmooreand1199union2.htm
I just posted this comment on Meister’s blog:
I must contend that there are some practices in a very small number of churches that open themselves up to critique, however, by and large I perceive that the vast majority of churches in Baltimore operate well within the bounds of law and ethics.
I understand as well that most of the questions that those from the “dominant culture” raise about the Black Church springs from their ignorance of the importance of this institution in the Black Community. Most of the social, political, and economic gains that were obtained in Black America came about because of the support or leadership of the Black Church community. (Even a surface study of the activism of Dr. King will show that the marches, protests, and boycotts – political activity – would not have been possible without the strength and energy of the Black Church.) As Dr. Jeremiah Wright shared Sunday night, Black folks and White folks view church and practice religion differently. The way we – as Black people- engage God through Faith and religion isn’t deficient. It’s just different than how White people practice their Faith.
Finally, as someone on my blog pointed out (www.faithinactiononline.com), if there is some corruption going on with a church using its nonprofit status in questionable ways to make money; that money is peanuts compared to how Johns Hopkins escapes paying property taxes with its 501(c)3 status. The article linked below shows how Hopkins escaped paying $12 million dollars in property taxes in 2004 alone! And Hopkins is not the only one. As the article says, As Baltimore struggles with a dwindling tax base, the city’s charitable institutions place the burden of paying for schools and other services on Baltimore’s residents and other businesses.
If the issue of nonprofits being too political involved is truly a concern to you or anyone else – go after the killer whales first – then worry about the minnows scurrying around near the ocean floor.
http://www.nathanielturner.com/robertmooreand1199union2.htm
Also see the link below to see a graphic on Baltimore’s Shadow Government and how Hopkins is an integral part of that.
http://indyreader.org/files/indyreader1_final.pdf
The tax breaks that developers get are a bigger problem in terms of the amount of money being given away. This definitely needs to be addressed. I think bribing churches with smaller give-aways is not only a moral problem but a vote buying problem that gets in to a totally different realm than the problems with big name developers. Once one big developer got incentives all the others expected the same and then bigger and bigger. It has gotten to a ridiculous point where a developer can donate $2000 to a political campaign and receive millions in tax breaks and discounted city owned property. I am sure this is why you see so many developers donating to so many campaigns of incumbents.