What defines a church? This question has bedeviled tax courts for years. The IRS has adopted a list of 14 criteria set out in De La Salle v. United States. Commonly referred to as the “fourteen points test”, it is important to note that the judges in the case did not intend for there to be a minimum number of criteria an organization must meet in order to satisfy the definition of a “church” as enumerated in their opinions.
In applying the Fourteen Points analysis to determine whether a religious organization may properly be characterized as a church, the IRS considers whether the organization has the following characteristics:
Scholarly analysis of the Fourteen Points by Robert Louthian and Thomas Miller recognized that the determination of what defines a church cannot be made solely on the number of the Fourteen Points a church meets. To quote: “Given the variety of religious practice… Attempts to use a dogmatic numerical approach might unconstitutionally favor established churches at the expense of newer, less traditional institutions.”
The Monastery adheres to the Fourteen Points as we think it is better to err on the side of caution when dealing with the IRS as the 2010 Church and Non-Profit Tax and Financial Guide book recommends. This is not, however, a tacit endorsement of the exclusionary and discriminating character of the Fourteen Points.
Religious Rights Lawsuit Initiated After Student Forced to Eat Pepperoni Pizza
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A former high school student who was a football player at McKinley High School in Canton, Ohio recently filed a lawsuit after he was forced to eat pepperoni pizza. Eating pork is against his family’s religious beliefs, so school officials violated his civil rights, the suit claims. The Basis of the Pepperoni Pizza Lawsuit The Read More
New Jersey Codifies Same-Sex Marriage Statute
01/25/2022
A bill introduced in the winter of 2020 codifying same-sex marriage into New Jersey statute was only recently advanced past the New Jersey Assembly Judiciary Committee on a vote of 4 to 0. New Jersey’s Assembly Bill 5367 states that laws addressing both civil unions and marriages should be interpreted with gender-neutral intent. Since 2013, Read More
Federal Judge Will Rule in Cambridge Christian’s Prayer Lawsuit
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Over five years later, a judge for a federal court is positioned to decide a prayer lawsuit regarding whether an Athletic Association in Florida unlawfully interfered with the First Amendment rights of a Christian school in Tampa after the Association banned the broadcast of a prayer that occurred during competition. During this championship football game, Read More
Christian Children’s Home Initiates Legal Action Against Biden Administration Over Same-Sex Couples
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West Virginia Prayer Group Accused of Religious Rights Violations
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A prayer group at a West Virginia school has drawn significant attention from the Freedom from Religion Foundation. One woman claims that the school has ordered her daughter to participate in a Prayer Club meeting at West Virginia’s public school, Chapmanville Middle. The parent additionally claims the school’s principal instructed teachers to keep the girl Read More
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