# If the US does indeed have separation of church and state why does the church remain tax exempt?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-the-us-does-indeed-have-separation-of-church-and-state-why-does-the-church-remain-tax-exempt/590105>\
**Category:** Great Debates\
**Created:** [July 23, 2011, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-the-us-does-indeed-have-separation-of-church-and-state-why-does-the-church-remain-tax-exempt/590105 "2011-07-23T20:15:15Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\
**Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-the-us-does-indeed-have-separation-of-church-and-state-why-does-the-church-remain-tax-exempt/590105/41 "2011-07-26T17:31:48Z")

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> [@Rand\_Rover](#):
>
> Well, it looks like others have said this, but I’ll add my two cents anyway. A church is basically a social organization and a charity, both of which are tax-exempt. If an organization wants to feed the poor, then it is tax-exempt whether it does it for religious purposes or not. Similarly, if a group wants to get together and socialize, it is tax-exempt whether they talk about religion or not. So, there’s no favoring of religion over non-religion.
> 
> Also, churches are tax-exempt in exactly the same way other charities are. So, if they engage in a business, they will be taxed on income from that business.

An organization that is purely social is not going to be tax exempt. To get the 401 (c) tax-exempt designation the group has to be primarily for some public purpose. [American Mensa](http://www.us.mensa.org/), for example, is NOT exempt from taxes. Its stated purpose is to give intelligent people a means of interacting. However, there is a [Mensa Education and Research Foundation](http://www.mensafoundation.org//AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home1) which is exempt.

The power to tax includes the power to destroy. Religious organizations are exempt so that the government has no way to interfere with them.

Organizations whose purpose is political – that is, to influence voting and governance – are not tax exempt. See ACLU, above.

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