Fundamentalist Christian Sects in America see a “war on religion” yet they don’t realize the amount of special treatment and coddling the government already gives them. Lets forget for a moment about the first sentence of the first amendment “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion”. And instead really look at the amount of help these fundamentalist groups receive.
1) Churches are given tax exempt status.
2) Churches use government social programs.
3) Churches don’t have to report their income to the IRS.
4) They don’t even have to apply for tax exempt status, they receive it automatically.
5) They are coddled by politicians, and at times religious leaders moderate presidential debates.
6) America has one of the highest percentages of Christians in the industrialized world. 82%
7) Religious lobbyists don’t have to register in order to lobby at capital hill.
Over 95% of all elected officials belong to the Christian faith.
Now, since the christians are so clearly under attack, they’ve found a new way to complain about the government having absolutely any type of laws apply to them. Take the recent debacle surrounding healthcare. The new law being discussed would only make religious institutions follow the same laws as the rest of the country. Many churches simply don’t want to provide contraceptive care to their employees. And lets call these people for what they are. Employees. Religious institutions in the United States have incredible power. Ironically, ideologically and politically religious institutions only are granted as much power and influence in 3rd world countries. This is not Jim Bob’s local Pentacostal church we’re talking about. The leader of the largest Catholic Group in the US represents 60 million people. The leader of the largest fundamentalist sect in the US (Now that Ted Haggard got caught snorting crank off of a gay strippers stomach) represents around 20,000,000 people in the US. It isn’t uncommon for Mega Churches to pack in as many as 20,000 attendees on any given sunday. And with all these attendees at the services comes absolutely obscene amounts of wealth, and with this wealth, the private jets, and the multiple mansions owned by many leaders of these mega churches, also comes the responsibility to take care of the money. It isn’t uncommon that one mega church alone would hire over 100 people just to take care of all the money they receive (this doesn’t count the amount of free volunteers they get as well). So all the law is saying is that churches have to treat their employees the same as a business would.
But no! This is an affront that churches would be treated in a similar way to a business! It isn’t enough that they already pay no taxes, amass vast amounts of wealth which they don’t have to report to the IRS, are well respected and ass kissed by the most powerful politicians in the world. Even these baby steps towards the idea that Churches are more than just religious centers of worship in this day and age is seen as a “War on Religion”. They simply won’t budge an inch on having any accountability to the US Government. And hey, that’s fine in some ways isn’t it? As an anarchist I don’t believe in the authority of the state, or the ability of elected officials to even represent anything I believe. However, don’t be a little bitch about it. When you belong to the religious elite in this country, and you already get so much special treatment. The real question is when to say enough is enough. It’s the equivalent of a welfare recipient complaining that they don’t get enough money from the government. Be happy with what you have, and any special treatment you’re getting.
Screaming “War on Religion!” when the government talks about treating you the same as many other businesses concerning health care coverage is the equivalent of yelling “Assualt!” if someone bumps into you on the subway. Bunch of little cry babies.
