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Should churches be considered non profit organizations or for profit corporations?
Results so far:
| non profit | 48% | 34 votes | Total: 71 votes | |
| for profit | 52% | 37 votes |
non profit
by Jon Berwick
Created on: November 16, 2010
This does not seem like there should be a debate, but clearly others have a different opinion. I feel this must come from a lack of attending a church or a lack of business understanding. Either way there is no reason that a church should be considered a for profit corporation.
Let us start with a basic business definition:
What is a non profit organization? A non profit organization is one that does not distribute its net profits known as a surplus to owners or shareholders and instead must reinvest the surplus in itself. A non profit does not have private owners that can benefit.
What is a for profit organization? A for profit organization is one where the sole purpose is earning returns or profit for shareholders. Some if not all profits of the company can be returned to the shareholders if so desired.
After those definitions how can anybody really confuse a church with a for profit organization? Maybe they heard the stories of corrupt churches, where a priest or pastor is stealing revenue from the church. Maybe people missed the concept of a tithe when the little basket passes in front of them. I cannot explain the greedy and corrupt stories and I am not denying they happen, but this is just one bad case. Why do churches ask for tithes though? First and foremost, it is a biblical principle. It is about giving back to God what He gave you in the first place. If you believe in God, then you should believe all things come through Him. Second, the church like any other organization has expenses. The building rent or mortgage may need to be paid for. The electric and heating bills need to be paid. Finally, where people might see something wrong is the pastor may need a salary. Some pastors work other jobs, but for others this is their career and full time way of life. Now with that said, is your pastor getting paid too much? That is a subjective thing and you should be able to debate it at your churches budget meetings.
On the flip side, I have gone to several churches and not once have I earned a profit. I give my tithe and expect nothing in return except the joy of giving and a blessed sermon on the weekend. If you found a church that gives you a payout on all the suckers that dropped some cash in the little baskets, you might want to reevaluate why you are going to that church. In the end I don't think any church can be confused with a for profit organization.
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for profit
by Michael Cronin
Created on: January 15, 2011
There are few revenue generating entities in the US that are not subject to paying taxes. Even non-for-profits are subject to paying taxes in many cases and contrary to popular belief; priests have to pay income tax in the same way that a traveling evangelist has to pay taxes under the guidelines of self-employment tax. Recently, Romania decided that, yes in fact, witches and fortune tellers will now have to pay taxes. Don’t all of you good church-going, god-fearing individuals think that the good lord would want us to help even the least of our people?
Our tax dollars go to help the poor and provide money to other non-for-profit entities like shelters that house homeless people and battered women. We should treat everyone equally and share the wealth. Therefore, we are denying the unfortunate and the least of our people when we collectively agree that the church should not have to pay taxes. When we enter a church that contains statues that cost thousands of dollars and gold-laced tabernacles and candle holders, one cannot help but think that the money generated by the belief in the good lord could be more wisely spent on the least of his people. Giving money to the church, the tax-free entity, does not allow an individual to buy their way into heaven.
The church used to grant indulgences allowing a sinner to essentially “pay off” their sins by making a monetary donation to the church. What happens to the tax-free dollars that enter the church today? What happens to the revenue that never has to be accounted for while the rest of us are still subject to paying taxes? What happens to the least of his people that still have to pay taxes while they are struggling to feed their families? If it was declared that members of the church were also eligible for tax-exempt status, then I am in. Praise the lord that has the power to deny us the cumbersome weight of taxes that only seems to burden the least of his people.
For those that think that the church is not a business let me remind you that the good lord is omnipresent and that he is all knowing and all seeing. Therefore, it does not take marble statues and expensive pews and windows. A good church-going, god-fearing individual can just as easily pray at home. But maybe it is the structure of the church itself that allows us to be closer to god. Maybe that is the same reason that many of us sign up for memberships at the gym even though we could just as easily exercise and eat well at home. Maybe, in some way, we need to pay our way into heaven.
Learn more about this author, Michael Cronin.
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