Atheists Fight U.S. Churches
Radio Commentary, 90.7, 91.7 New Life FM, December 14, 2018 – By Sue Ella Deadwyler
On October 11th the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) filed a lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) asking the court to force churches and other religious organizations to file tax returns.
FFRP is an atheistic organization with a tax-exempt status and 23,500 members. FFRF uses tax-exempt money to fight religious freedom, although the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States protects that freedom.
The group is open about its goals. They want all religious influence removed from social services, including adoption. In health care, they want to make sure unborn babies can be aborted. In education, they want no mention of God or scripture, and they want no Christian prayer in public schools. In criminal justice, they want prison and rehabilitation programs to be God-free, and they want religious displays to be removed and banned from all public property.
An additional goal was identified in March 2011 when they co-founded the Clergy Project to support clergy that leave their faith. Then, in 2012 they sued the IRS because churches and religious organizations are not required to file tax returns. Four years later in 2015 they created another arm of their organization and called it, “Nonbelief Relief,” to provide charity to atheists, agnostics and free thinkers. Atheists believe there is no God; agnostics believe humans cannot know whether there is a God; and free thinkers form opinions apart from tradition, authority or established belief.
After Nonbelief Relief’s tax exempt status was revoked, that arm of the FFRF filed its October 11th lawsuit against the IRS, because churches and religious organizations did not lose their tax exempt status.
So, the issue will be decided in court and Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) is defending against that lawsuit. On November 21st, attorneys with ADF filed a motion on behalf of New Macedonia Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., asking the federal court to intervene on grounds that the government would be overstepping its constitutional bounds if churches were required to file IRS tax forms.
The FFRF began attacking religious freedom in 1976 and, as noted above, has expanded, systematically, since then. If the atheists were to win their case, U.S. religious organizations, including churches, would lose their tax-exemption, and would be subjected to governmental red tape and interference. This exemplifies the age-old un-ending battle between good and evil. Pray that good prevails. For Georgia Insight I’m Sue Ella Deadwyler your Capitol correspondent.