My Current Church Position
I personally believe that because of their tax-exempt status, the existence of ALL churches is being subsidized by, and carried on the backs of, all of the taxpayers. I favor that the tax-exempt status of churches be revoked. If they are truly not making a profit, it won't make any difference. No profit = no taxes.
Lacking the revocation of the tax-exempt status, the next best thing is to require that the financial books of churches be publicly available for everyone to see. This is what Canada has done. I wish the United States would follow suit.
I also think the role of churches is two fold: (1) provide humanitarian aid to people in need, and (2) be an educational institution that teaches people how to get along with *all* other people, regardless of their religion. I will support any and all churches to the extent that they do this, and remove my support to the extent that they *fail* to do this, or try to expand their charter beyond those bounds.
In my observation, *most* churches try to expand their charter beyond that. And *most* churches try to hide their books from the public. Therefore, I am very critical of churches in general, and have no desire to give any of them money. We don't give churches money. Not any of them.
Nevin