thoughtsignals

Part 5 of the New York Times series on how faith-based organizations have carved out exemptions for themselves from conventional government regulation and taxation:

It looks like a business and, in many ways, acts like one. But it is beyond the reach of most of the rules and government oversight that apply to businesses — because it is a church mission.

This is the “medical bill sharing ministry” known as Christian Care Ministry, based in Melbourne, Fla., the largest of a handful of similar ministries around the country.

Link.

My previous posts on this series are here, here, here and here.

The issue here is not whether or not religious organizations should have constitutional protection against government interference. The issue is when are those protections taken so far that they end up giving the religious organizations an economic advantage over organizations — when do protections from government interference morph into government subsidies. At that point, the government is aiding the establishment of a religion. And that’s unconstitutional.