Churches using grant funds to promote political extremism

[super simian]

From the Philanthropy News Digest:

Grantmaking to Evangelical Groups Warrants Closer Scrutiny, Report Says

The D.C.-based National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy (http://ncrp.org/) has released a report which argues that grantmaking by conservative philanthropies to increasingly politicized evangelical groups requires closer scrutiny by the IRS.

The report, Funding the Culture Wars: Philanthropy, Church and State, analyzes nearly 3,200 grants totaling $168 million made by thirty-seven foundations to seven hundred evangelical grantees from 1999 to 2002 and concludes that strategic grantmaking is being used to promote conservative positions on issues such as abortion, same-sex marriage, stem-cell research, and school prayer. Although churches are not required to submit Form 990, the tax form used by tax-exempt organizations to provide financial information to the federal government, the study argues that the IRS should clarify its definition of "church" to avoid shielding faith-based groups that engage in advocacy activities.

"The concern," NCRP deputy director Jeff Krehely told the Philadelphia Inquirer, "is that many religious nonprofits don't have annual tax-filing requirements with the IRS even though they are getting tax breaks and foundation grants. We think they have to be open to more public accountability."

http://fconline.fdncenter.org/pnd/654/story

[sam sarrha]

1. very timely read this...Link:

http://www.insider-magazine.com/ChristianMafia.htm

it ixplanes the mechanism.. through which this is done and the history from which it came.. Nazi's

[super simian]

2. While they challenge...

...the tax exempt status of the NAACP because it has a "political agenda." I kid you not! These are dark times. Thanks for the link! Interesting article.

[arwalden]

3. Why Is There No Satisfaction In Being Able To Say "Told Ya So"?

[Tux]

4. Easy

We're all going to die over a book.

[GOPBasher]

5. Is it just me, or do things seem to get worse everyday.

When is the theocracy going to be in full swing, here in the United States of only Christians? :shrug:

[trotsky]

6. Our only hope...

is that they bicker more over whether Jesus wants them to discard their sandals, or gather sandals together, than attack us non-conservatives and/or non-believers.

[super simian]

7. Isn't is already

..in some places in this country, like the WH for example? This is probably one of the most deliberate and insidious plots to promote the neocon agenda of dismantling our democracy and replacing it with a totalitarian government.