Churches and Taxes

[expatriate]

As I travel around the streets of Detroit I can't help but notice that are can be as many as 3 churches on each block in many neighborhoods. This has made me curious as to how many of these 501[[c)3 tax exempt religions organizations there are in the city and how much revenue the city loses in property taxes because of them. There must be hundreds citywide. Is it any wonder that residential taxes are so high?

[preserve]

It does raise a lot of questions, especially when you travel Mack or Grand River. How many
parishioners does a church have to have to maintain that tax exempt status?

[Ltdave]

years ago i worked at Detroit Axle...

i would get off i-94 at Van Dyke and drive up to Lynch Road...

mile and a half. i counted 21 store front churches...

i dont know that theres any "minimum" number of parishioners a church needs to maintain tax exempt but they get their status because they are educational organizations...

[renf]

There is a tremendous amount of property tax exempt property in Detroit and other Michigan cities. Think about the hospital complexes in Detroit, Wayne States along with state and federal buildings. Think about the state owned property in Ann Arbor and East Lansing. To a great degrees these non-profits make use of city services including police, fire, city planning, water and sewerage. I know there are charges for some of these. However, if the legislature wishes to address the issue of more equitable taxes, the imposition of some level of property taxes on non-profits is very reasonable. I realize that Supreme Court decisions preclude states taxing federal properties. It would be interesting to know what percent of Detroit's 138 sqaure miles are occupied by non-property tax paying non-profits.

[Bobl]

They should all be taxed, just as businesses and residences should. I have argued this with a friend, who happens to be Christian, for years. Recently he partially conceded, saying: "Mosques should not be included." He has no idea how illogical or hypocritical that appears to those who do not share his superstitions. Nice guy, despite his irrational statement.

[DetroiterOnTheWestCoast]

They should all be taxed, just as businesses and residences should. I have argued this with a friend, who happens to be Christian, for years. Recently he partially conceded, saying: "Mosques should not be included." He has no idea how illogical or hypocritical that appears to those who do not share his superstitions. Nice guy, despite his irrational statement.

There seem to be way too many that think "freedom of religion" really is only applicable to their own fairy dust beliefs as well.

[Hypestyles]

who knows.. I guess from the 80s forward, the megachurch phenomenon became the religious culture equivalent of the Wal-Mart/big box store, leading to smaller, neighborhood churches hollowing out; nonetheless, the storefront church phenomenon continues to semi-thrive.. Who knows what the median congregation numbers are. Depending on the exact size of the outlet, it isn't much..

[JoeGeds]

who knows.. I guess from the 80s forward, the megachurch phenomenon became the religious culture equivalent of the Wal-Mart/big box store, leading to smaller, neighborhood churches hollowing out.

Detroit World Outreach Church is a mega church located at Telegraph and W. Chicago in Redford. They have 5500+ members. They purchased a 18,000 sq ft home on 12 acres in Northville Twp that backs up to Maybury State Park. The address is 19460 Via Piazza Dr. The sale price in 2006 was $3,675,000. They pay zero taxes on it. I know no one is going to feel sorry for Northville Twp., but they are missing out on approx. $50,000 in taxes per year from that parcel alone. I think they have 3 locations in the Detroit area, the main campus in Redford being the largest. It would be interesting to see how much in taxes they avoid for all of their properties totaled up. Check out the house in Northville on Google maps. It's amazing. I wonder how much "educating" goes on their for the followers of the flock........

[dtowncitylover]

Detroit World Outreach Church is a mega church located at Telegraph and W. Chicago in Redford. They have 5500+ members. They purchased a 18,000 sq ft home on 12 acres in Northville Twp that backs up to Maybury State Park. The address is 19460 Via Piazza Dr. The sale price in 2006 was $3,675,000. They pay zero taxes on it. I know no one is going to feel sorry for Northville Twp., but they are missing out on approx. $50,000 in taxes per year from that parcel alone. I think they have 3 locations in the Detroit area, the main campus in Redford being the largest. It would be interesting to see how much in taxes they avoid for all of their properties totaled up. Check out the house in Northville on Google maps. It's amazing. I wonder how much "educating" goes on their for the followers of the flock........

Wowza! Google Maps even has a marker saying "Detroit World Outreach".

This always reminds of the fact that in the earlier days of the Jehovah's Witnesses, their leaders built a mansion somewhere in San Diego for the supposed "coming" of some Biblical prophets. Of course the leader at the time lived in it and drove his Cadillac. Tell me, how many JWs today are aware of this fact? Oy...

[Hermod]

If the little storefront churches are rented rather than owned, doesn't the owner of the building have to pay property taxes regardless of the use to which the building is used?

[Honky Tonk]

If the little storefront churches are rented rather than owned, doesn't the owner of the building have to pay property taxes regardless of the use to which the building is used?

Good question. Maybe it's a write off as a "donation to a church"?

[Bobl]

This post has me wondering how many fools show for the upcoming Joel Osteen rally in Detroit. Perhaps we could have a lottery, where the poster who guesses the announced attendance wins a prize.

[Baselinepunk]

To quote one of my favorite Republicanisms:

EVERYONE must pay their fair share. To not tax these organizations, is a government endorsement of religion. And let's get rid of the Republican-created "U.S. Office of Faith-Based Initiatives while we're at it, k?

[Baselinepunk]

Too bad Detroit folks don't take the false-profit strip mall hucksters with their pop-up churches as seriously as they try to do with the so-called "Pot Shops". The churches do more harm in the community than any pot shop could.

[EastsideAl]

This always reminds of the fact that in the earlier days of the Jehovah's Witnesses, their leaders built a mansion somewhere in San Diego for the supposed "coming" of some Biblical prophets. Of course the leader at the time lived in it and drove his Cadillac. Tell me, how many JWs today are aware of this fact? Oy...

It was called Beth Sarim. And the mansion is still standing, but was sold off by the Witnesses back in the late '40s.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beth_Sarim

The Witnesses today are making hundreds of millions of dollars in a piecemeal selloff of the buildings of their headquarters complex in a once-industrial, now highly gentrified, section of Brooklyn.
http://ny.curbed.com/jehovahs-witnesses

[G-DDT]

Tell me, how many JWs today are aware of this fact? Oy...

Whereas Christianity brings all it's basic core beliefs straight to the table to those interested, groups like JW and Mormons and cults like Scientology [[no wait, they aren't a religion-that would turn off potential converts, but wait again, they are a "religion" as far as taxation and the U.S. government is concerned-?!?) keep all potential proselytes in the dark about many things and push this feeling that they have to earn more and more gradually-imparted [[conditioned) "deeper" esoteric [[God forbid anyone get caught up in any group or club that operates in a manner that says you have to elevate to greater plateaus of enlightenment to be "free", honestly.) "revelations".

The Mormons teach that "the words of a new prophet supersede the words of an old prophet". That is their escape clause to rearrange any doctrine to best suit them at the time to fit their needs. Thus, there is no consistency [[Proverbs 24 "Beware those given to change"-in the radically unstable and inconsistent sense.). If they had an attitude that non-whites could never elevate up in ranks within the LDS up until the climate of the mid-50's changed, so they changed; it got altered by "new words" and to their hopes, swept under the rug never to be brought up again. Most Mormons act really ignorant if you bring this fact up to them. I look at their diet [[highest mortality rate, mostly from colon cancer from all that supporting of cattle country livestock) and their doctrine, and I can't help but think of Hebrews 13:9 and the analogy made between food and doctrine and how it applies to them [[By similar formula, Reddit has a funny one about Proverbs and LBJ-https://m.reddit.com/r/Christianity/...e_predict_lbj/ but how much was that dog-eared incident-one I caught long ago- conveniently contrived?).

By far, the most clueless of fringe "Christian" [[that is to say, non) faiths are the JW, for they are left in the dark most. Part of this is how they are told not to question [[well, so much for being like an inquisitive child or asking/seeking to receive/find), fostering anti-intellectualism [[well, so much for being cunning as serpents with girded up loins of the mind) by stealing their liberties on every aspecthttp://thejehovahswitnesses.org/thin...es-cant-do.php. One of the ways they burden members in their vast pyramided network is having each member have to seek approval for each and every important and personal aspect of their life [[What jobs they take, who they can court-even most Mennonite/Amish communities are not that strict.). So, delving into church background is a no-no.

It's bad enough that you got a church that plagiarizes "art" from skin mags http://www.nairaland.com/1498593/wat...arism-hardcorefor it's contrived paste-up propaganda, but while they rail on their members to avoid pagan symbols like "flags" or "Christmas trees", they don't know their founder was a huge pyram-idiot.http://makesureministries.com/pastor...lls-tombstone/

[G-DDT]

This post has me wondering how many fools show for the upcoming Joel Osteen rally in Detroit. Perhaps we could have a lottery, where the poster who guesses the announced attendance wins a prize.

Guess how many wingnuts in this mason jar!

[Hypestyles]

Whereas Christianity brings all it's basic core beliefs straight to the table to those interested, groups like JW and Mormons and cults like Scientology [[no wait, they aren't a religion-that would turn off potential converts, but wait again, they are a "religion" as far as taxation and the U.S. government is concerned-?!?) keep all potential proselytes in the dark about many things and push this feeling that they have to earn more and more gradually-imparted [[conditioned) "deeper" esoteric [[God forbid anyone get caught up in any group or club that operates in a manner that says you have to elevate to greater plateaus of enlightenment to be "free", honestly.) "revelations".

The Mormons teach that "the words of a new prophet supersede the words of an old prophet". That is their escape clause to rearrange any doctrine to best suit them at the time to fit their needs. Thus, there is no consistency [[Proverbs 24 "Beware those given to change"-in the radically unstable and inconsistent sense.). If they had an attitude that non-whites could never elevate up in ranks within the LDS up until the climate of the mid-50's changed, so they changed; it got altered by "new words" and to their hopes, swept under the rug never to be brought up again. Most Mormons act really ignorant if you bring this fact up to them. I look at their diet [[highest mortality rate, mostly from colon cancer from all that supporting of cattle country livestock) and their doctrine, and I can't help but think of Hebrews 13:9 and the analogy made between food and doctrine and how it applies to them [[By similar formula, Reddit has a funny one about Proverbs and LBJ-https://m.reddit.com/r/Christianity/...e_predict_lbj/ but how much was that dog-eared incident-one I caught long ago- conveniently contrived?).

By far, the most clueless of fringe "Christian" [[that is to say, non) faiths are the JW, for they are left in the dark most. Part of this is how they are told not to question [[well, so much for being like an inquisitive child or asking/seeking to receive/find), fostering anti-intellectualism [[well, so much for being cunning as serpents with girded up loins of the mind) by stealing their liberties on every aspecthttp://thejehovahswitnesses.org/thin...es-cant-do.php. One of the ways they burden members in their vast pyramided network is having each member have to seek approval for each and every important and personal aspect of their life [[What jobs they take, who they can court-even most Mennonite/Amish communities are not that strict.). So, delving into church background is a no-no.

It's bad enough that you got a church that plagiarizes "art" from skin mags http://www.nairaland.com/1498593/wat...arism-hardcorefor it's contrived paste-up propaganda, but while they rail on their members to avoid pagan symbols like "flags" or "Christmas trees", they don't know their founder was a huge pyram-idiot.http://makesureministries.com/pastor...lls-tombstone/

so how do you reach someone who converted to JW via marriage and at this point is fairly embedded in the culture? A female friend gets annoying when she goes on and on about their stuff.. she hasn't started going door-to-door yet..

[G-DDT]

Too bad Detroit folks don't take the false-profit strip mall hucksters with their pop-up churches as seriously as they try to do with the so-called "Pot Shops". The churches do more harm in the community than any pot shop could.

Amusing that this thread became an almost instant collaborative effort for many to chime with a coordinated and large presence just to slam on religion [[and mostly by those who rarely post, unless it be only to slam on religion-way to use a Detroit topic as your chincy vehicle to push a boisterous anti-religious agenda, guys.), and just when we were having such a lagging summer lull in postings on DY of late.....

If BLP meant "the churches" referring to those pop-up strip mall deals [[many of which are fringe para-churches sponsored, financed, and supported by a larger church umbrella organization. As I've said before, study the intricacies of theology and use critical comparatives of the Western faiths and then look at what kind of literature and merchandise they try to push on folks. You can usually see where it leads up to.), then, I can agree.

As to clumsily lumping all churches into one big gross generalization, that's bad form.

We addressed that matter before http://www.detroityes.com/mb/showthr...etroit-s-slide[[and I did, to great length) brought up by those stupidly painting with broad brushstrokes. All this done in such behavior much like the popular and ignorant sentiment of the internet culture at large does, but I guess if one really and truly wants to be a genuine freethinking rebel or nonconformist who thinks outside of the box, then one must get a handle on what is the status quo drive here, start applying deductive reasoning as to what might not be said there, and instead of being spoon-fed how you should view religion by the unabiding and all too popular New-athiest movement or by any of the books that pigeon-quote ugly and dated Levitcan text, try doing the research yourself by reading the most commonly available book there is, and start reading it from the center that ties all things in-that is to say, the Gospels-on outward.

Who knows?-you might find more surprising liberty present in the scriptures than what you presumed or were lied to believe. You may actually find many statements that jive well with what you always held true. Even if there are only some truths you can find elsewhere, maybe you might find a few truths you had been long seeking to nail down.

This can only happen by suspending all bias and presumption [[hermeneut-ically speaking, how you go into the Bible/or anything else determines what you will grasp and come out of it with), and because the Bible is an age-old composition that spans all time and covers so many areas, one must learn how to balance out so many intricate and weighty matters [[or sticky wicket topics) by learning to temper things to come to a resolved [[and not too esoterically strained) synthesis, instead of actively trying to go "aha, well why does it say this here, and then something different waaay over here?"

I can understand the skeptical approach a Biblically literate soul has who rails on most of the Christian faiths out there, for I've run into many who say "I got no problem with Jesus, I just don't like Jesus' fan club" [[which was the approach Monty Python had with making the "Life of Brian" and oh believe me, I understand quite well; for I'm of the belief that there isn't one marginally tight and true way of getting the Bible right, but there sure are a whole lot of other ways to get it ugly wrong, and if that bothers the hyper-critical outsider, than you need to know that the same goes for life,as well, so deal with it!). For I am of the mind of those vast silent unrepresented [[that is to say, definitely not represented in any electronic broadcast promoted sense-only the worst ones have earned that commercial platform.) old school faiths who don't regard the wide path of the mega-churches or [[even worse) the health-n'-wealth hustler evangelicals like Olsteen, T.D. Jakes, or Detroit World Outreachas as being genuine.

If one avoids the Bible directly they are a.) limiting themselves as a well-read and well-rounded individual, at the least. Even most secular scholars and writers of the 1800's knew their letters enough to find some merit in Biblical scripture. It was a sure thing that they at least had the Bible on the shelf next works of Shakespeare, Blake, and many philosophers to always use as reference. b.) to avoid it, because you bare a chilling fear that you may be "converted" or changed in any way is amusing. Such concern of being "contaminated" by some words marks one of being just as superstitious in nature as those they reductively accuse of having faith. So, search you hearts honestly [[yeah, takes time pacing and it hurts, yo!), and see what your real motive for holding you back is, because you are being just as restrictive in nature to yourself as one may accuse the "faiths" as being restrictive.

Oh, and do pot shops with government plastic dope save Detroit?

There were violent episodes at churches in the past [[most of these were unresolved forms of gang retaliation bringing it straight to the doors of churches that were having vigils for those killed and a few incidents where a pastor violently responded to a threat-something many of the churches that have been vandalized as of late-something also to consider as to who the real "oppressor" is here, folks?-would never do to an aggressor-especially within the Catholic Church.), but already these dispensaries are drawing violence to them.http://www.wxyz.com/news/region/detr...eadly-shooting Marijuana may not make folks dangerously violent [[as past propaganda tried to convince us), but the stupid power struggle to monopolize on it will.

Maybe opiates are the real opiates of the masses-who are sadly being divided and conquered on a daily silent and genocidal basis.

[G-DDT]

so how do you reach someone who converted to JW via marriage and at this point is fairly embedded in the culture? A female friend gets annoying when she goes on and on about their stuff.. she hasn't started going door-to-door yet..

That is a trying matter.

Marriage to those who are non-believers or of a different faith is actually surprisingly sanctioned in the N.T. in St. Paul's letters to the Corinthians, and it is at the discretion of the believer if they wish to leave them or stick it out [[yes, actually says that. The only other exceptions for divorce is infidelity and separation and remarriage due to death-depending on which churches adhere strongly to these.). St. Paul then goes on to say that there is no guarantee whether one will convert or not convert that spouse of different beliefs.

The best way to prove one's faith is to live accordingly as a quiet and abiding example. To go and shove things down folks throat [[unless prompted by others-like say by a formidably large skeptical presence on some thread forged by ignorant premises, in which someone has a right to state themselves thoroughly to cover all angles and with evidence.) is to immediately cross the threshold of the double-standard of abiding.

Abiding is a tricky tightrope virtue. Even most atheist/agnostics have a sense of abiding and can tell when it is being imposed upon by Evangelicals, rabid political supporters, neighbors inviting them into a pyramid or MLM scheme, rambunctious folks of a different lifestyle, etc. To abide is to be true to one's self and not to be virus-like [[a very primordial ugliness that can only operate in destroy or assimilate-that is why there is no such thing as "Sympathy for John Carpenter's The Thing." Even if done in a subtle passive-aggressive manner, being virus-like is fascism nonetheless.) in any manner. Karma-wise, if one wants respect for their way of living [[and being oneself truly is an acquired taste), they must learn to coexist and respect the different ways of others.

Abiding is not the same as complying, however, so there is a limit to only how much a person can bend to accommodate others. Only when one is backed into a corner and being beset upon by adversity and those that impose horribly, should one stand their ground and defend their right to be themselves [[and hopefully not become some embittered one-dimensional caricature of one on a vengeful reaction formation crusade against a certain group.). At the very worst, a Christian should avoid such virus mentalities and accurately expose them to others as you would warning others of an open manhole cover.

Yet, with your friend, she has chosen to convert, I take it, because she married this guy. This is a bad example of letting one thing wrongly necessitate prior to another. Most folks of faith have accepted this to the shock of outsiders [[the Masons are worse, as they eventually condition the member to accept that the brotherhood supersedes faith and family-though they won't admit this so profoundly to outsiders or beginners.). Maybe outsiders just don't truly look past and question instilled flimsy premises of civil-imposed "morality" [[the Gospels of Jesus actually don't push the delusion of "family values" as much as the Religious Right would have you believe. That is a construct of Western civil-"Americanism" that is designed to keep folks divided by the equally contrived construct-delusion of "sex appeal"-such delusions working together in collusion to keep the masses polarized and well controlled.) to realize that you can't trust anybody more than themselves; for all things in the physical world are flawed. Yet, to embrace trust-above even yourself-in the perfect, omnipotent, sublime, and personal One is to accept all else will fall short before you at one crucial time or another [[for it is only a matter of time before all foundations get tested eventually in some manner; so, have the far-sightedness and thorough contemplation to sort out the foundation of your beliefs carefully and work with growing on them.).

One should only join a faith because they truly embrace it as the deepest most profoundly expansive foundation of who they are and all else becomes lesser in priority. To be centered in yourself is crucial first.

Then with marriage, it is to love and accept another for who they truly are and hope that the other, likewise, will respectfully show that they love and accept you for all that you are. If she didn't genuinely have this faith prior to him, and she is only doing this as a condition to be with him, it is flawed for him [[or orbital family and faith) to impose this on her and not accept her for her different path, and it is deeply and profoundly disingenuous on her part to just comply with a faith she may not whole-heartedly embrace.

Now, if she truly was won over by the teachings of the JW and all is copacetic, then it's in God's hands. I only hope this person doesn't have such a rude awakening [[pardon the pun) that causes her to not only dismiss the JWs but also develop such a strong reaction formation, that she tosses the holy infant child out with the baptismal water by hating God and Christian teaching in general.

As for her female friend....she may need to distance herself if she feels she is being imposed upon. The JW faith is a very unabiding one, and if this JW wife is "know the Lord, know the Lord" but only by her limited and puppeted interpretation to her own friend, she isn't showing respect to this female friend and the different walk she has.

If this female friend does stand up and assert [[can be done without being aggressive) her right to be different, I wouldn't be surprised if the JW faith tells the wife to sever all ties. The female friend may have to brace herself for the worst [[and maybe be forgiving later on if wife becomes an ex-JW wife crawling back to reunite old friendship ties-hopefully) here; to go and hire a de-programmer and kidnap her [[or at the least, have any intervention) is to cross the abiding threshold and be a double virus jerk right back. Sorry, that's life. Not to sound remote and cold about it, but it is our lot in life to only share the road with some people for only so long. Friends do come and go, and I do hope this person hasn't been that life long of a friend.

It neither helps you or the female friend to have to hear any of this, but do take the time to take this bitter medicine of revelation. For now It Is What It Is, and so much of this will have to be left in God's hands.

[Jimaz]

DetroitYES Home » Non Detroit Issues » Thom Hartmann » Should Churches Lose Tax Breaks For Advocating Hate?

[G-DDT]

DetroitYES Home » Non Detroit Issues » Thom Hartmann » Should Churches Lose Tax Breaks For Advocating Hate?

Now this is where the argument bares some merit [[and as flipped out digressive as I got with my writing, was it any different than anyone allowing a "Detroit-based thread" on Churches and taxes unravel to be an intolerant athiest-fest? hmmm?).

There really isn't a "religion test" that filters out the perpetrators from the real deal. As a Christian, many things act as red flags to tip off a Christian. Is it a church that exclusively claims to be the "true church" while all else is a false path? Well, they disqualified themselves right there with that spiritual arrogance void of genuine humility [[and I will spare you all the scriptural citation and all that is roundabouts that condemns those think they are Christ's exclusively.). Do they contradict their own doctrines? Are they living humble lives free from excess that exceeds the average means of living? If they are making lots of money, how much is actually being used for charity efforts to assist those local and abroad, believers or else-wise [[just passing out Bibles and getting folks to sing for their supper ain't gonna cut it as being a "charity" deserving of 501 c-3 exemption-at least not in my own opinion.)?

So far, the best blows made for civil rights were the Kennedy V. Green, Coit V. Green, and Connally V. Green rulings that hit phony racist segregative churches, school, and universities where they needed to get hit. As Randal Balmer [[once again, Christian or not, folks got to view his works. I highly recommend the "Encyclopedia of Evangelicalism" or "Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory") pointed out, prayer in school, abortion [[which some evangelicals supported, as they did Eugenics, if it meant thinning down non-whites.), moral decay-all of these were just hobby horse topics to rant about if it could sway masses and acquire filthy lucre.

Once laws that aptly stated that any church or private learning institution that practices racism or segregation will be removed from tax-exempt status were enacted-and with Carter-enforced, then these guys stiffened, mobilized and formed the Religious Right, the Moral Majority, and the Christian Coalition to kick out Carter and get Reagan in. They made it about abortion and prayer in school and impending Armageddon with Reds and Middle Eastern forces, but the one topic they refused to bring up was the very one they wanted to zero in on and turn back the clock on. Yes, old rich, white hatred at it's deepest core. Those that got openly stubborn about their bigotry [[like Bob Jones U-Lahaye's Alma Mater-with their profound racism or Charles Frazier Stanley keeping African American's out of his church) were taken to the highest court or eventually saw their TV show canceled for over 15 years. http://www.politico.com/magazine/sto...l#.V2jDevkrLIU

If we can hold those court rulings indelible, than at least that is one way to cull out the weeds of false prophets and Pharisees of hatred.

[Bobl]

It has nothing to do with false prophets or hatred. The issue is subsidizing religious beliefs, practices, buildings and infrastructure with taxpayer dollars, and the separation of church and state.

[p69rrh51]

Unfortunately its all or nothing, there is no way to pick or choose who are worthy of exemption. On the other hand the corner churches are inadvertent preservationists. Many of Detroit's bank branches and other corner buildings have been saved from the wrecking ball by the very group that is being discussed in this thread. This Louis Kamper designed bank branch most likely would be long gone if it had not been repurposed as a church.

Central Savings Bank Branch 8944 Mack Avenue built in 1920 Detroit, MI.

[Zacha341]

Sadly you have the false prophets, hyper-materialists, scammers and what all thrown in relative to the current taxing law. Such is the way of it. I refuse to attend a mega-church. Preferring the smaller, personal congregation, with the least amount of flash and fanfare as possible. All the materialism will in part be the un-doing of some the mega-churches. They'll be required to compromise to keep the materialism.

Christian churches that have understanding, anticipate the inevitable withdrawal of government sanctioned exemption status. The cost to retain such will ultimately be too high. Particularly if the doctrine, or as some might put it, philosophy of the church is to be retained. Caesar may have to keep his, no thanks for any further rendering.

You'll then see, in a way, who remains, standing in faith. Course other 'religious' entities would have their tax exempt status removed as well I would assume?