OK, people – a few hundred dollars worth of hardware and labour and the loss of my Windows 7 Professional software later, I’m back online and ready to rock.
Only one subject this morning – Hail Satin!!
IRS recognizes Satanic Temple as ‘church’, grants tax-exempt status
April 26, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) – The U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has formally recognized the Satanic Temple as a church, according to a celebratory announcement by the organization and as confirmed by the Associated Press.
On Thursday, the Satanic Temple announced on Instagram that “for the very [first] time in history, a satanic organization has been recognized by the United States federal government as being a church.” The IRS website confirms that the Satanic Temple is now a tax-exempt organization “eligible to receive tax-deductible charitable contributions,” but gives no further details on its status beyond being a “public charity.”
The AP, however, reports that it received a copy of the notice, which classifies the Satanic Temple as a “church or a convention or association of churches.”
The IRS’s decision comes despite the Satanic Temple’s own website all-but acknowledging it isn’t a religion in the traditional sense. The group’s FAQ page explains that it doesn’t believe Satan or other supernatural concepts literally exist, but embraces Satan’s name as a “symbol of the Eternal Rebel in opposition to arbitrary authority.”
It claims to qualify as a religion because it has “deeply held beliefs that we actively advocate,” a “narrative structure by which we contextualize our lives and works,” and a set of symbols and practices that give a “sense of identity, culture, community, and shared values” – a definition of “religion” that could encompass any number of ideological, political, or cultural groupings not traditionally considered to be religions.
“IRS regulations draw a clear distinction between ‘churches’ and other religious organizations,” Catholic News Agency adds. “A church must have certain characteristics, according to IRS requirements, including: a recognized creed and form of worship; distinct ecclesiastical government; formal code of doctrine; ordained ministers selected after completing prescribed courses of study; established places of worship and regular religious services.”
Rolling Stone notes that the Satanic Temple itself has rejected tax-exempt status in the past, but reversed its position in 2017. Temple president Lucien Greaves made the change in protest of President Donald Trump’s moves to protect religious liberty, which Greaves claimed was turning religious groups into a “privileged class” from which Satanists should benefit as well.
“This acknowledgment will help make sure The Satanic Temple has the same access to public spaces as other religious organizations, affirm our standing in court when battling religious discrimination, and enable us to apply for faith-based government grants,” the Temple’s announcement added, meaning the new status is likely to bolster its legal claims in cases such as its placing of Satanic statues in the state capitals of Arkansas and Illinois.
The Daily Caller notes that the new status is “redundant” on the matter of grants, as there currently aren’t any federal grants exclusively available to faith-based groups, and faith-based and secular groups are equally free to compete for grants.
1 posted on
4/26/2019, 4:16:56 PM by
ebb tide
This should be good.
To: ebb tide
It will be the official Church of the Democrat(sic) Party.
2 posted on 4/26/2019, 4:22:45 PM by Reverend Wright (TAX the WOKE !)
Projecting just a wee bit, aren’t we? Democrats by and large favour separation of church and State.
You know? Like in the Constitution you inbred idiots claim to worship?
.
Maybe you were thinking of Franklin Graham?
To: ebb tide
Leftist, commie, socialist, anarchist, satanic-demokkkRAT bureaucrats; the gov’t is stocked with so many of them, my calculator melted trying to count one agency’s roster.
3 posted on 4/26/2019, 4:23:34 PM by carriage_hill (A society grows great when old men plant trees, in whose shade they know they will never sit.)
Are you sure it wasn’t your alleged brain that melted?
To: ebb tide
The main sacrament of Satanists is abortion
Think about that for a minute
5 posted on 4/26/2019, 4:25:07 PM by Truthoverpower (The guvmint you get is the Trump winning express !)
Nah – the main sacrament is sacrifice of pre-teen children.
.
Or was that ICE’s?
.
(I actually have this t-shirt: )
Rush fanboy YYZ makes a good point here :
To: ebb tide
The IRS already gave the Church of Scientology tax status as a church. The Satanists couldn’t begin to touch that bunch for being evil.
10 posted on 4/26/2019, 4:36:22 PM by -YYZ- (Strong like bull, smart like tractor.)
Of course – this is Free Republic, and Freud never sleeps :
To: Roman_War_Criminal
Sodom and Gomorrah comes to mind.
6 posted on 4/26/2019, 5:25:11 PM by ExTexasRedhead
Come for the sodomy, and come back Gomorrow for more.
To: Roman_War_Criminal
It’s an anti-Christian hate group of atheists.
What’s their religion?
Is the Klan a religion too?
8 posted on 4/26/2019, 5:34:00 PM by a fool in paradise (Denounce DUAC – The Democrats Un-American Activists Committee)
…asking for a friend…
.
More satanic majesties at the link below…
Continue reading “Today on Tommy T’s Obsession with the Freeperati – Beelzebubba edition”
