Columnist: Tax exemptions favoring clergy defy Constitution
By Madelyn Kearns, The Maine Campus, January 28, 2010
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Life is good for the Rev. Michael Rodgers and his loving wife, Bernadette. Between the loyal congregation of the Faith Baptist Tabernacle Church Mike shepherds in North Highland, Calif., and the couple’s charming 1,600 square foot residence located only three miles from the office, luck certainly seems to work in the Rodgers’ favor quite often.

However, in this case, it’s more than good fortune that’s siding with the Rodgers family: They happen to have the government to champion them in the form of an exclusive tax break on their housing expenses. How does one qualify for this housing allowance? Well, with the title of minister and a church behind you, this untaxed bonus could be all yours, too.

According to Rodgers, his monthly housing allowance — $1,452 of untaxed cash separate from his $31,000 annual salary — is a minor, necessary benefit for ministers, who spend a great deal of their days aiding the community. He notes that churches and the clerics who devote their lives to run them are “stepping in to help where the government can’t” — a sobering fact that goes without argument.

Churches’ charity and the positive aspects of religion is not what is being questioned. Rather, it’s the blatant disregard of the laws and standards expressed in the Constitution that these so called “small rewards” bring to the forefront.

Can we honestly consider such allowances, offered only to a certain class of individuals defined specifically by the degree of their religious commitment, and conclude that they are not only fair but maintain the separation of church and state called for in the First Amendment? The answer, after careful reasoning, is absolutely not.

As of October, the Freedom From Religion Foundation, a freethinking activism organization based in Wisconsin, has produced a lawsuit in hopes to abolish clergy housing exemptions and has found a spot on the docket in Sacramento federal court. The foundation, although a bit overzealous in some of its battles, may have picked a winner with this one because of the exclusivity embedded within the Clergy Housing Clarification Act.

Due to the fact that only ministers are allowed to apply for the housing tax exemption, while other non-profit organization employees such as teachers and day care workers are barred, there is an unwarranted favoritism toward religious workers in the law.

Erwin Chermerinsky, dean of the University of California, Irvine School of Law and constitutional law expert, articulates it best in an e-mail he sent to the Sacramento Bee concerning the problem at hand: “(The Clergy Housing Clarification Act) gives a tax exemption for ‘ministers of the gospel’ that is not available for anyone else. The Supreme Court has said that the government cannot favor religion over secular activities. This does just that.”

The practice is unconstitutional and unfair to taxpayers in this country, especially those who work so hard to provide for the good of the community such as social workers, nurses and teachers. A tax exemption like this should be fashioned for all non-profit workers, not just one particular group that happens to have a stronghold in politics.

Not all of us have jobs that pay a sustainable salary and include our religious beliefs as a focal point. Despite the certainty of death and taxes, as well as the ever-tightening budget belt, somehow we all manage to get by just fine. But to live in a country that displays an imbalance merely because of favoritism and bias when everyone is struggling is just plain unacceptable.

“If they take this away, well, my Bible says God will supply all my needs,” Rodgers commented when asked about the possibility of losing the tax break.

That’s how it’s been for everyone else for a while now, Mr. Rodgers. Welcome to the neighborhood.

Madelyn Kearns is a sophomore mass communications major.

White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships
Publication 517