Why did Reagan Administration grant tax-free religious status to Scientology?

[thanatos144]

That's not the point. It's their illegal activities. Read into the stories of some of their former members. They can't all be lying. The following is a good place to start.

Ex-Scientology Kids

Okay, but again, what the Catholic Chruch did in hiding pedophile priests was definitely an "illegal activity".

The only thing that upsets me about Scientology is the gall of the fraud. But we are going to elect a member of the second biggest fraud (Mormonism) as president, and even libs get upset with me when I point out the fraud.

The main difference I see between Catholicism and Scientology is aberration vs institutional ethos.

As for Mormonism, while I agree the "scripture" is made up, Mormons are great people. Scientologists, on the other hand, aren't. Check into the policy of "Fair Game", for example.

So cause of your bigotry they are not a religion???? You progressives are a piece of work.

 

[konradv]

Okay, but again, what the Catholic Chruch did in hiding pedophile priests was definitely an "illegal activity".

The only thing that upsets me about Scientology is the gall of the fraud. But we are going to elect a member of the second biggest fraud (Mormonism) as president, and even libs get upset with me when I point out the fraud.

The main difference I see between Catholicism and Scientology is aberration vs institutional ethos.

As for Mormonism, while I agree the "scripture" is made up, Mormons are great people. Scientologists, on the other hand, aren't. Check into the policy of "Fair Game", for example.

So cause of your bigotry they are not a religion???? You progressives are a piece of work.

What about money making scam, don't you understand?

 

[thanatos144]

The main difference I see between Catholicism and Scientology is aberration vs institutional ethos.

As for Mormonism, while I agree the "scripture" is made up, Mormons are great people. Scientologists, on the other hand, aren't. Check into the policy of "Fair Game", for example.

So cause of your bigotry they are not a religion???? You progressives are a piece of work.

What about money making scam, don't you understand?

You have yet to prove that you bigoted ass.

 

[konradv]

So cause of your bigotry they are not a religion???? You progressives are a piece of work.

What about money making scam, don't you understand?

You have yet to prove that you bigoted ass.

You have yet to prove I'm a bigot. I've presented cites. Read any of them? If you haven't, I'd have to say you're posting from ignorance.

 

[Synthaholic]

Because the constitution does not give the federal government the power to define religion?

Even by your standards this is a failure, you should ask the mods to delete it.

Seems to me that the only reason this is called a religion is precisely because the Federal government gave it's blessing to be considered one, by granting tax-free status.

Why am I wrong?

Same reason you're ALWAYS wrong: because you're an ignorant mouthbreather.

Scientology is called a religion because it is one. It doesn't need the federal government's approval - or yours, however much you seem to believe every fucking thing on the planet requires your vote on it - to be what its practitioners believe. It only needs the federal government's approval to not pay taxes, and shocking as it may seem to shallow-minded twits like you, the definition of "religon" is NOT "doesn't pay federal taxes".

I realize that you are an idiot (and am also realizing that you are a Scientologist), so you can be excused for not understanding the question, which is:

Why was Scientology given tax-exempt status?

 

[Synthaholic]

because we don't get to decide what is a religion and what isn't?

don't get me wrong... i've never figured out why anyone follows a 'religion' supposedly based on being a psychological 'clear' that was started by a science fiction writer who killed himself.

never quite made sense to me.

Apparently the government does. And by doing so, they violate the establishment clause by favoring some "religions" over others.

So the question I keep asking: what makes one religion worthy of government approval over another?

No, dimwit, they don't. The government gets to decide what meets their definition of a tax-exempt religious organization. I realize that leftist government-worshippers can't understand the difference between "existing" and "being recognized by the government", but there IS a difference.

Which is...what?

 

[Synthaholic]

It was reported at the time that the meeting between administration officials and Scientology officials lasted as little as 10 minutes.

Why would Reagan grant tax-free status to a bunch of kooks?

If we are going to allow tax exempt status for some religions, then we must allow them for all of them and the guidelines must be pretty liberal. If they are not, it could be construed as favoritism towards one group over another which could lead to a ruling where all religions lose their tax exempt status.

Like all tax laws, tax-exemption is available to anyone who wishes to meet the requirements for it. This will probably amaze you, but many religious groups DON'T WANT government recognition, and don't feel the need for it. I realize that leftists, in their veneration of all things government, will never grasp that fact, but it's true.

There is no "favoritism" in the IRS's tax-exemption codes. They are accessible by anyone who wants to access them, they aren't all that particularly hard to meet (that's "not hard" by tax regulation standards, of course), and they are applied in exactly the same way to everyone who applies for them.

Which is...what?


You're not very good at this, are you?

 

[Synthaholic]

As opposed to all the other kooks?

Why does any Church get a tax exemption?

Why is Evil Space Lord Zenu and Body Thetans any more ridiculous as walking on water or getting golden tablets or Mohammed going to the Mountain in one day?

I agree! But what is the legal criteria for the tax-exempt status?

You really do not care, the entire premise of this thread was to attack Conservatives through Reagan's actions, and it completely backfired when Freedom of religion was brought up... But spin away, rather than admit your failed premise.

Reagan had nothing to do with it. Note the word "administration".

And I corrected it to the Bush administration. And again - not Bush himself.

Do try to keep up, dumbfuck.

 

[Synthaholic]

This country has never taxed religion, a fact that, more than anything else, has kept religion out of the government. Yet some people fail to grasp the obvious, so I am forced to repeat it.

OK - again: what constitutes a religion?

What are the criteria in which to acquire tax-free status?

You're connected to the fucking Internet, twit. Look it up and stop expecting the rest of us to fill in the Asia-sized holes in your knowledge every time you step on your johnson.

You made the assertion, you dumb shit.

Back it up, or continue to be laughed at.

 

[Synthaholic]

Because they met the legal requirements to be a tax-exempt religious organization, and despite your apparent belief that you get a vote in what other people believe and how they live their lives, it's not for the federal government or anyone else to decide on the "legitimacy" of someone's religious beliefs.

It would be incredibly nice if leftists ever came to understand the true meaning of the phrases "No one asked for your opinion" and "No one cares what you think".

OK, Braniac: what are the legal requirements to be a tax-exempt religious organization?


I predict that this will be the last that we see of Cecilie in this thread.

I'm not your research assistant, ass wipe. Go look it up for yourself. IRS.gov, in case you're too stupid to figure out where to find it.

I predict this will either be the last we see of Synthaholic on this thread, or the last time he mentions this question.

You said:

Because they met the legal requirements to be a tax-exempt religious organization
​

What are those requirements, dumb shit?

Or are you just another wingnut who talks out of your ass?

 

[Synthaholic]

Because they met the legal requirements to be a tax-exempt religious organization, and despite your apparent belief that you get a vote in what other people believe and how they live their lives, it's not for the federal government or anyone else to decide on the "legitimacy" of someone's religious beliefs.

It would be incredibly nice if leftists ever came to understand the true meaning of the phrases "No one asked for your opinion" and "No one cares what you think".

Apparently, you are so fucking stupid, you don't even see the contradiction in the two bolded statements.

Apparently YOU are so fucking stupid, you don't even see that the only "contradiction" exists in your head. Your inability to understand something doesn't make it incorrect.

Since I'm feeling charitable, I will explain it for you one more time: IRS tax-exemption does NOT confer "legitimacy" on a religion, any more than a marriage license confers it on a relationship. Only liberals think government sanction equals legitimacy, because only liberals worship the fucking government and think the world revolves around it.

Tax-exemption confers one thing, and only one thing, on a religious organization: tax exemption. And the IRS determines one thing and one thing only: whether or not an organization which chooses to apply for tax-exemption meets the requirements to receive it. Should you ever pull your head out of your ass long enough to actually FIND those requirements and read them, rather than sitting around on your dead ass, whining for someone else to tell you what they are, you will see that NONE of those requirements involve the IRS judging the actual beliefs of the organization for their validity. Also, the IRS does not choose who will or will not apply for tax-exempt status. Any group may apply which wishes to do so.

You are dumber than a fucking rock!

A marriage license doesn't confer legitimacy on a relationship?

 

[Synthaholic]

As opposed to all the other kooks?

Why does any Church get a tax exemption?

Why is Evil Space Lord Zenu and Body Thetans any more ridiculous as walking on water or getting golden tablets or Mohammed going to the Mountain in one day?

I agree! But what is the legal criteria for the tax-exempt status?

Look it the fuck up, you lazy-ass piece-of-shit twerp! Who did your homework for you in school, loser?

Believe it or not, the Internet is NOT just for porn.

So, you were just talking out your ass.

I knew that already, but I wanted to get you to confirm it.

 

[tjvh]

I agree! But what is the legal criteria for the tax-exempt status?

You really do not care, the entire premise of this thread was to attack Conservatives through Reagan's actions, and it completely backfired when Freedom of religion was brought up... But spin away, rather than admit your failed premise.

Reagan had nothing to do with it. Note the word "administration".

And I corrected it to the Bush administration. And again - not Bush himself.

Do try to keep up, dumbfuck.

You are too stupid to realize that my point was that it really didn't matter that it was Reagan, that you were merely using Reagan's actions as a reason for YOU to attack conservatives. By stupidly bringing up the Bush Administration, not only are you proving the validity of my point, you are revealing to those who can think for themselves that you are nothing more than a partisan hack without the slightest bit of intellectual thought you could call your own. Now have some neg rep for all the profanity you have been using, proving to the rest of us that you are not nearly mature enough to be discussing anything more than what's for dinner in your OWS tent, moron.

 

[auditor0007]

it could be construed as favoritism towards one group over another which could lead to a ruling where all religions lose their tax exempt status.

And this would be bad?

Religious groups collect their revenue from donations. They don't really sell anything, and they are not looking to make a profit, at least not in most cases. On top of this, many of these groups do a great deal of charity work. In the end, society benefits from most religious organizations, whether we agree with their doctrine or not.

 

[konradv]

it could be construed as favoritism towards one group over another which could lead to a ruling where all religions lose their tax exempt status.

And this would be bad?

Religious groups collect their revenue from donations. They don't really sell anything, and they are not looking to make a profit, at least not in most cases. On top of this, many of these groups do a great deal of charity work. In the end, society benefits from most religious organizations, whether we agree with their doctrine or not.

Scientology DOES sell "things", auditing sessions that can run to the $100s of thousands to get to the highest levels. It's a mistake to compare them to most religious organizations. The doctrine doesn't really figure into it at all. You can believe anything you want, just don't try to brainwash and bankrupt your "flock".

 

[Harry Dresden]

If Scientology is benign, why did Katie Holmes run to NY to file for divorce? She's trying to keep her daughter out of their clutches by going to a state where Scientology isn't as ingrained and accepted.

Why? Let's see, celebs, publicity, drama, upper hand in publicity and the list is long, I'm sure she consulted with , attorneys, agents, publicists so as to make the proper popular choice and get win the court of public opinion.

I doubt she'd trust those in CA. Scientology is deeply ingrained in the community. Her attorney appears to be her own father. One of the few people she could really trust.

really?.....what community might that be?...

 

[konradv]

Why? Let's see, celebs, publicity, drama, upper hand in publicity and the list is long, I'm sure she consulted with , attorneys, agents, publicists so as to make the proper popular choice and get win the court of public opinion.

I doubt she'd trust those in CA. Scientology is deeply ingrained in the community. Her attorney appears to be her own father. One of the few people she could really trust.

really?.....what community might that be?...

Hollywood

 

[Harry Dresden]

Legally; it is a legitimate religion. Do you have anything to say otherwise?

i would think a "religion" has to have a God or Gods to worship....who do these guys worship.....L.Ron Hubbard?....hey just askin....

So Buddhism isn't a religion, and shouldn't have tax-exempt status?

to me no.....it seems more like a philosophy.....my opinion is a "religion" has to have something you worship,like a god or gods.....not just following some guys way of life.....if you dont pray to someone,to me,its no religion......no tax-exempt status....

 

[konradv]

i would think a "religion" has to have a God or Gods to worship....who do these guys worship.....L.Ron Hubbard?....hey just askin....

So Buddhism isn't a religion, and shouldn't have tax-exempt status?

to me no.....it seems more like a philosophy.....my opinion is a "religion" has to have something you worship,like a god or gods.....not just following some guys way of life.....if you dont pray to someone,to me,its no religion......no tax-exempt status....

That would seem to cut out Scientology, too.

 

[Inthemiddle]

What are those requirements, dumb shit?

An organization must be organized and operated exclusively for exempt purposes set forth in section 501(c)(3), and none of its earnings may inure to any private shareholder or individual. In addition, it may not be an action organization, i.e., it may not attempt to influence legislation as a substantial part of its activities and it may not participate in any campaign activity for or against political candidates.