The Business of Religion by Bolder Landry The number of people who drift from one new quackery to another, wasting their income in futile search of health and happiness, will probably never be known. Instead of preventing mental growth, religions should teach love of life. The feeling of life's preciousness and the desire to foster and further it should be the goal. Origin of Church Wealth To know how organized religion has become big business, one has to look back to antiquity. Religious exceptions and preferences were first claimed by those who represented the supernatural powers that they alone were empowered to oversee. Churches, synagogues, and temples pay no taxes because of a variety of gimmicks. Here are a few examples of how the monetary power of churches originated: 1. Under the Egyptian Pharaohs, land, revenues and treasures were all tax-free. Pagan Rome adhered to its church-state separation until 313 A.D. when emperor Constantine surfaced. His edict of Toleration (306) gave Christianity parity with pagan religions. With the Council of Nicaea (325), the Catholic Church became wealthy through pagan decrees, tax exemptions and immunity from military service. The wealth of those who died without heirs went to the Church. Pagan temples were turned over to the Catholic Church, and generous support was often provided from state revenues. 2. The second source of Catholic wealth comes with Pope Gregory the Great (590-604). In the sixth century this pope was the greatest slave and landowner in the world. He announced the "end of the world," at which time slaveowners were told to turn their money and property over to the Church. 3. The Inquisition was invented to rob the rich of their possessions. (Missionaries to Hawaii: "They came to do good and they did well.") The Inquisition was itself a scramble for gold divided three ways_the third part went to the Pope. Thus the burning of millions of heretics for their money and properties was the doing of the popes. 4. As for the Crusades, the Holy Land and the Holy Sepulcher were there. So was gold! 5. From 1503 to 1600 the conquerors stole from the New World an estimated 225,000 pounds of gold and 15 million pounds of silver. The Church received her share of the loot, plus Indian land, buildings and slave workers (The Conquistadors, 1957, p. 377). 6. Next to simony, traffic in sacred things, the sale of hierarchical office including the papal tiara, was the sale of indulgences. This resulted in immense revenues for the Church (Forgery In Christianity, 1992, p. 390). This abuse led Martin Luther to examine the doctrine of purgatory (an imaginary hot spot) and indulgences for relief from the sufferings in purgatory. 7. During colonial days churches became powerful and wealthy after the Revolution. They pressed for special legislation and by 1835 churches began to be granted tax exemption to church property. (Freedom Under Siege, 1974, p. 37). Modern Church Revenues Presently the IRS Section 501 (c) (3) exempts all churches in every state from taxation provided they do not engage in "political or legislative activity." Churches may be subject to audit and taxation on their church-unrelated business income beginning in 1976. But gobbledygook Code insertions say, "No one is authorized to take note of this fact." (The Religious Empire, 1976, p. 30.) Churches are not required to file reports with the IRS or any other authority. "The Vatican is the largest financial operation in the world." (Ibid. p. 220.) Today the Catholic Church has over 150 dioceses in the U.S. This includes about 20,000 churches with an estimated 38,000 priests, 13 cardinals, and more than 200 bishops. These all control 58 million Catholics. One can see how the sacrosanctness of religion keeps racking in hundreds of millions each year tax-free. And there is more! After World War II churches profited from the government's giveaway of free land and buildings, tax-free. Religious real estate values in the last 30 years have risen to multimillions of dollars. Thanks to Uncle Sap! The Supreme Court still adheres to "benevolent neutrality." Additionally, churches held stock in war contracts, especially Vietnam. Churches are involved in "leaseback" gimmicks when a business owner sells his business to a church and both make money. Then there is the "insurance" scheme, the day care center scheme, the antipoverty Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO) scheme and homes for the elderly scheme. Additionally there are wills, gifts, wineries, cheese factories, California Missions and the sale of religious products, including a price for an audience with the pope! There are fund-railings, pilgrimages, bingos, raffles and lotteries. This is to say nothing of the sales of the pope's book, encyclicals and new catechisms, all tax- free. The religious financial empire is limitless. Boys Town (Nebraska) for homeless boys is an example. Their $20 million annual income for 700 boys was exposed (attacked) as a phony appeal. Now lately the Catholic Church has been asking for billions to support some 40,000 retired nuns, brothers and priests. Should these receive Social Security when their salaries went to their own churches? Does this make sense? Last year the Vatican admitted to a surplus of $1.5 million. Thanks to world contributions to the Holy See. All of this tax-free. (San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 June 1995.) Your property taxes go up each year because church property is tax-free. Will our national leaders do something about this? No! will believers stop giving money to priests? No! How about revolutionary expropriation? Yes, this is possible but not until sleepy Americans are educated enough to shake off their shackles of superstition. Church financial power has become an economic colossus at our expense. The only way to destroy this inequity is to attack and expose it. Remember, there have been anti-clerical upheavals in the past. Ironically, on the day I finish this article, it is Bastille Day. "Aux armes les citoyens!" Churches should never be allowed to take in more money than they need to cover their annual expenditures. Period! Bolder Landry is an exceptional scholar, speaking and reading several languages. He was a history teacher for many years and is a staunch Thomas Paine fan. He has written several books and currently resides in San Diego, California.