ATHEISTS BTFO
In
Gaylor v. Mnuchin, the atheist group Freedom From Religion Foundation sued the IRS to end the parsonage allowance, a federal tax provision which allows churches, mosques, and synagogues to provide faith leaders a tax-free housing allowance to help them live in the communities they serve.
The Becket Fund, which represented the ministers, said, “The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit recently rejected the atheists’ challenge and unanimously upheld the tax exemption as constitutional.”
Thursday was the last day the Freedom From Religion Foundation could appeal to the Supreme Court, and they declined, thus ending the lawsuit by default.
Ironically, even though the Freedom From Religion Foundation claimed that this exemption was an excessive entanglement of the separation of church and state, the opposite is true.
The Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit, in its final decision, said without the exemption, “The IRS would need to interrogate ministers on the specifics of their worship activities [and] determine which activities constitute ‘worship.’” That is “excessive entanglement” between church and state.
Of course, this lawsuit was entirely petty, unnecessary, and absurd, wasting time and resources.
Even though religious liberty continues to spur fights nationwide, it’s good to see such militant combatants against religious freedom get the wind knocked out of them in the court system.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/two-small-victories-for-religious-liberty-that-you-didnt-hear-about
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