The Forum > Article Comments > The case for an end to religious privilege > Comments
The case for an end to religious privilege : Comments
By Moira Clarke, published 26/11/2012Australians might be interested to learn that one of the ATO's definitions of 'charity' is the 'advancement of religion'.
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Viniger Joe says, "The issue surely is distinguishing the charitable work from the non charitable part of what religious bodies do. That is where it gets hard, both legally and politically." I suggest it would not be all that hard legally though the churches would make sure it was difficult politically.
At the moment, the situation is that any organisation that meets the ridiculously inadequate requirement to be classified as a religion — virtually a statement that it believes in a god, any god — is entitled to dip it hands in all taxpayers' pockets to fund its proselytizing work. If the organisation instead had to demonstrate that it did charitable work, and to quantify the overall worth of that work to the community, life would be tougher for the churches. But at least when a charity-providing branch of a church dipped its hand into this taxpayer's pocket, I would feel that its case was worthy.
It's surely a reform that is just as obviously needed as is the reform requiring all faith schools to teach a proper national studies-of-religion course, one that teaches children about all religions and how to critically appraise their claims rather than one that merely indoctrinates them in the unexamined beliefs of a particular denomination