“Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely”—Religious Organizations not Excepted.
I suppose the genesis for my suspicion involving the role of Religion in society began early in my career when students might come to me outside of class with a very personal problem in their lives that had nothing to do with their course in Physiology with me. “Maybe you should take this problem to your minister, priest, rabbi, or whoever in your place of worship”, I would suggest. I had stopped going to church myself as it seemed perfunctory, ritualistic, and shallow. It had no real significance in my life or to the lives of those who need help the most. But that was just me, I reasoned, and let such thoughts recede. To each his own. But what startled me was the almost universal response from such students which was some such variation of “What to they know about real life? I think I need something more than to sit around, hold hands, and pray?”
Some of my university students lived in some pretty rough city neighborhoods and I quickly realized my job would be far more demanding than teaching the fundamentals of physiology. Privately, I seethed at the reality that these students were reduced to coming to someone like me with such personal problems which ranged far afield in nature. I don’t recall ever going to any teacher with personal problems. I mean, maybe I did, but I can’t recall any at this late stage of my life. Now really, if religious leaders are not there primarily for this sort of thing, what the hell are they there for? It appeared to me that there are a few religious leaders who spend endless hours helping those most in need (financially and otherwise) but far more clergy whose life is simply a paid social life. Most church leaders I have known were nice, pleasant, friendly, and almost totally useless to those most in need. There is nothing inherently wrong with singing hymns, group praying, bible lessons, preparing sermons—so shallow and innocuous that no member of the congregation will get upset and leave the flock, or having potluck suppers, or presiding over weddings, baptisms, funerals, summer camps, and so on, but it is hard to put any of that up there with serious societal matters. Then again, I am not the best to judge here since I personally have always been negative about endless meaningless chit chat for most any reason. I tend to respond to conversations of substance (plus nonsense) but a little meaningless chit chat goes a long way.
On the other hand, I can’t be alone here since every major religion I know of (not sure about the Muslim religion) is losing church members en masse. While religion no longer has the power it once had in our society, the fundamentalists of any of the major religions can still effectively manage to make it difficult for diverse groups of humanity to get along. If faith is good, no matter what is behind the faith, then religious fundamentalists are saints. But it does seem that if we could put all these ‘saints’ in the same huge country somewhere, and let them massacre each other in the sordid specific ways they often do (no death is too cruel when the motive is doing God’s will)—then the rest of us could probably live in more peaceful and prosperous communities. The history of the varied religious groups is never very pretty, uplifting, or lasting.
What is interesting is this: While church membership and attendance is down in religions today, belief in God is not down at all. So it is not exactly correct to state that people are not as religious as once they were, but rather that organized religions have failed the people they serve.
Every so often the issue rises as to whether churches should pay taxes on church buildings just as people who own homes pay taxes. I suppose, if huge corporations can escape taxes, if they will move to another state, why can’t churches be tax free? At least they are not huge corporations, albeit some of them really are. This is not an easy question with which to deal for me. I don’t pay taxes on money I put in my FANAFI Fund each year, all of which goes to 501 designated charitable organizations. Of course I am delighted to have my tax obligations reduced. Of course it doesn’t stop there, any capital gain I get from my investments is always taxed at the reduced rate of 15%. That seems a tad weird. So some guy whose income is from pushing a wheel barrow around all day pays roughly double the tax rate compared to my shuffling papers around in a smart way. Of course if I were to lose all these tax breaks I would naturally squeal like a pig. But the general point here is why are we constantly inventing tax breaks for the affluent which means those with the most income are paying the least to support government expenses like schools, roads, infrastructures, and so on. Like Bernie Sanders points out, the system is rigged. And it certainly is.
I reckon if I don’t pay taxes on my charitable expenditures why should churches? After all aren’t they there primarily to help the less fortunate? I mean, the prophets who started these religions surely were focused on the less fortunate. I can’t think of a prophet, off hand, who did not live a simple life out amongst those with the greatest needs. Maybe churches should be exempt if they can prove their income goes primarily to help the least fortunate here at home or abroad. Those who give to charity often check to make sure most of the money is really going to something they think it is, and is not being spent on administrative costs and employee salaries. So I decided to Google the answer and find out just what percentage of money churches collect goes to the least fortunate directly or via programs specifically for them. Google rarely doesn’t have the stats I am looking for. But amazingly here, the search failed. Here is the closest I could come”
“How do churches compare? (to charities) The short answer is, we don’t know. With very few exceptions, the financial statements of churches and religious ministries are not available to the public.
But there are estimates. For example:
Every year churches collect some $100 billion in donations. But most donors do not know that the average congregation in the U.S. gives only two percent of donated money to humanitarian projects. Some 98% goes to pay staff, upkeep of buildings, the priest’s car, robes, salary and housing.
This came from Roy Sablosky. But he’s on the board of the American Humanist Association of Greater Sacramento. Might he be biased?
Christianity Today is another source. A survey gave this breakdown of the average church budget: 43% for salaries, 20% for facilities (mortgage, etc.), 16% missions, 9% programs, 6% administration and supplies, 3% denominational fees, 3% other.
So where is the money to good works? Presumably “missions” includes this, but this is a nebulous category. A dollar spent on the First Baptist Church soup kitchen certainly counts as a charitable expense, but the dollar spent supporting a missionary doesn’t.
That estimate of 2% to humanitarian projects may not be too far off.”
To the extent this is mostly true, then churches are not really like charities but more like businesses—not a business which makes a product but a business which provides some sort of social service. A cell phone bill is a charge for you to maintain the social life it carries with it. Contributions to the church are along the same line, it provides for the personnel and equipment, building, and social activities for the members. I remember as kid hearing the minister preach about the poor and less fortunate but I never came in contact via church participation with this part of our community. I am aware that sometimes church members volunteer certain days, especially holidays, at a soup kitchen or give clothes to people who have lost everything in floods, stuff like that. But then so do many non church members. I would like to know which group gives the most? When it comes to the saying, “Give me a fish and I eat for a day; teach me to fish and I eat for life time” it just seems churches, if they do much at all, just give the needy a fish here and there.
It seems fair, at least to me, that if a church can prove it spends most of its income on activities which directly help the least fortunate here or abroad, then they deserve a tax break. Otherwise, it is a social club, in existence to provide a social atmosphere for the members. Can anyone imagine Jesus living in a 10.5 million dollar mansion and raising money to build a 16,800 seat church like Minister Joel Osteen of Hurricane Harvey fame when he baulked at opening up the church to the homeless? Joel has a point, that was built as a luxury temple for the members to serve the Lord surrounded by impressive gilded designs of an imagined heavenly atmosphere in nice luxurious seats. I might go there just to get real comfortable and feel awed by my surroundings. God only knows what that place would look like after the homeless got through living there. That building was not built for the homeless, why would they suddenly be welcome? I wonder what percentage of the congregation who come for his precious sermons fit in the category of least fortunate in that area. Nah, if they go to church at all, they down at the rickety ole rustic fire trap singing hallelujahs and hopping around in high spirits to get the Lord’s attention to their plight in life.
All the sarcasm aside, churches are nothing like their founders envisioned. Maybe I am just bitter, but I suspect I spent more time working with those less fortunate, on their personal problems in life, per week, than most clergy type ever do, unless they are preaching in a ghetto church, in which case I might be way off base. And in my case, it wasn’t technically part of my job. It makes one feel trapped—there is nothing sadder than to be face to face and see the desperation in a young person’s eyes as they try hard to escape to a better life. These pictures from life’s other side are simply the saddest experiences in my life. Whatever the totality of life, fairness does not abound. I know that God’s evolutionary process will eventually improve matters, but that doesn’t help the present reality for so many good, but less fortunate of our citizens. All we can ever do is keep trying, as best we can, to help the less fortunate—in ways we have the talent for, so that at least we gain the increased contentment in our lives for the effort. Those who give, really do get back, in contentment, as much contentment for their actions, as those who receive the help. A little birdie explains all this to me. Then Sheebiejiebie the cat lets me know that she was once a feral cat, survived that, but she is starving to death, and if I will not feed her right now and then, on her demand, she will certainly be dead any minute. She is very convincing, but the vet says she is a tad overweight so I restrain myself, and tell her eating time is only two hours away.
