Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site persci.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!cbosgd!ihnp4!mhuxn!mhuxr!mhuxt!houxm!vax135!cornell!uw-beaver!tikal!cholula!persci!bill From: bill@persci.UUCP Newsgroups: net.politics,net.religion Subject: Re: "Tax Supported" Churches. Message-ID: <416@persci.UUCP> Date: Wed, 25-Sep-85 15:04:30 EDT Article-I.D.: persci.416 Posted: Wed Sep 25 15:04:30 1985 Date-Received: Sat, 28-Sep-85 04:44:13 EDT References: <5958@cbscc.UUCP> <880@abnji.UUCP> Reply-To: bill@persci.UUCP (William Swan) Organization: Summation Inc, Woodinville WA Lines: 24 Xref: watmath net.politics:11199 net.religion:7772 In article <880@abnji.UUCP> nyssa@abnji.UUCP (nyssa of traken) writes: >If a church catches fire, I would assume that the local fire company >will go to put out the fire. Is that a violation of church and state? >Isn't is a situation where a government does serve a church? >James C. Armstrong, Jnr. {ihnp4,cbosgd,akgua}!abnji!nyssa Hardly. The original expression is something on the order of: "..shall make no laws respecting any establishment of religion..". This is read to mean that the government is not to declare that one religion is preferable to another, nor to enact laws to the same end. This is what is commonly referred as the separation of church and state. This is not to say that certain laws do not work to the advantage of one church over another. For example, a church I know, part of the Continuing Episcopal Church (an "offshoot" of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the USA) is trying very hard to get established, and build a building. Property taxes, building permits, etc, are draining their very limited finances, making it very hard to get going. A PECUSA church doesn't have that problem, because of their wealthy backers. This does not mean that the law is being preferential to PECUSA churches over this Traditional Episcopal church. -- William Swan {ihnp4,decvax,allegra,...}!uw-beaver!tikal!persci!bill Brought to you by Super Global Mega Corp .com