No Images? Click here
The Weekly is a highlight of the work the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission is doing to strengthen you and our churches for God’s glory.
Explainer: What you should know about churches and tax exemption
In a recent forum on LGBTQ issues for Democratic presidential candidates, former Texas Congressman Beto O’Rourke said that churches and other religious institutions that oppose same-sex marriage should lose their tax-exempt status. Andrew T. Walker wrote about O’Rourke’s statement.
Here is what you should know about churches and tax exemption.
What does it mean to be “tax-exempt”?
Tax exemptions reduce or entirely eliminate an obligation to pay tax on income or transactions at the local, state, or federal level. Tax-exempt usually refers to the status of certain businesses and organizations that have a general federal tax exemption. Donations to such tax-exempt organizations are usually tax deductible (i.e., they reduce the amount of taxable income and thus the amount of tax required to be paid).
This Week at the ERLC
Josh Wester writes at Facts & Trends about 4 ways parents can prepare their children to live in a sex-confused world.
- Russell Moore spoke at the Liberty Baptist Association meeting in Kentucky.
- Dan Darling preached at Passion Creek Church, an SBC church plant in the Phoenix area.
What You Need to Know
Susan Codone experienced the unthinkable: sexual abuse by leaders in the church. She has endured years of trauma—and has experienced the Lord’s healing. From her experience, she makes 10 requests of church leaders. Read her article here.
The Centers for Disease Control estimate that one in three women and one in four men have experienced sexual violence. In your congregation, this equates to 33% of your female members and 25% of your male members. Sexual abuse is a dominant form of trauma, but many adults have experienced physical, emotional, domestic, and spiritual abuse. My conservative estimate is that at least half of your membership has a significant trauma background.
Casey B. Hough writes about two recent religious liberty victories in the U.S. And though you might not think they matter for you as a Christian, Hough helps us see why, indeed, they do. Read his explanation here.
With both of these cases, religious liberty was upheld. Believers and non-believers everywhere should celebrate these rulings because they preserve the rights of individuals to worship or not worship in accordance with their sincerely held beliefs. Furthermore, the rights of organizations to operate in a manner consistent with their values were protected, which is good for all in society.
Lisa Hamel knows the joys—and challenges—of someone with Autism Spectrum Disorder. She has a son with autism and understands how situations easy for most people can be difficult for those in his shoes. Read her advice and encouragment to the Church here.
Every church has socially awkward Christians. I parent one of them. Our son has level 1 autism, formerly known as Asperger’s Syndrome. Autism Spectrum Disorder is often paired with Sensory Processing Disorder or even Giftedness. He looks and smells like your average middle schooler but he processes information in a very different way. Most people don’t realize anything is different about him until they socially interact.
News From Capitol Hill
On Tuesday, the Washington Nationals won the National League Pennant, bringing the World Series back to Washington, D.C., for the first time since 1933 when Franklin D. Roosevelt was president.
Whether it’s playoff baseball or the myriad of other fast developing news events, one important story that ought not be missed is the diplomatic move made by the United States responding to China’s horrific religious persecution in the region of Xinjiang.
Earlier in October, Secretaries Mike Pompeo and Wilbur Ross announced the placement of restrictions on Chinese officials and organizations responsible for the atrocities. This coordinated effort from the U.S. Departments of State and Commerce restricts both the travel and business activity of Chinese government and Communist Party officials involved in the reign of terror over Uighurs and other Muslim minority groups. Commerce added 28 Chinese organizations to its export restrictions list for “activities contrary to the foreign policy interests of the United States,” and the State Department will apply visa restrictions to multiple officials.
Russell Moore commented that the news was, “welcome and sorely needed.” Moore continued:
“China's reign of terror on religious minorities must be met with a vigorous response from the United States. These new restrictions on the Chinese government officials responsible for the persecution of religious minorities are just and wise. I pray that we will continue to act until the day that the Chinese Communist Party no longer terrorizes religious people from believing and living out their deepest held convictions.”
In Pompeo’s announcement of the visa restrictions, he drew attention to China’s “brutal, systematic campaign to erase religion and culture in Xinjiang,” and demanded that China “end its draconian surveillance and repression, release all those arbitrarily detained, and cease its coercion of Chinese Muslims abroad.” And Secretary of Commerce Ross announced the export restrictions by stating that the department, “cannot and will not tolerate the brutal suppression of ethnic minorities within China.”
The ERLC has called for the U.S. government to prioritize the fundamental right of religious freedom in all aspects of its foreign policy dealings with China. At the 2019 Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting, Southern Baptists passed a resolution condemning the Communist Party of China for their “extreme religious persecution and flagrant human rights violations.”
Last month, Russell Moore published an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal about the importance of countering China morally, highlighting the abysmal record of the Communist Party of China on fundamental human rights.
Featured Podcasts
On The Way Home podcast, Gary Thomas joins Dan Darling to talk about his new book When to Walk Away: Finding Freedom from Toxic People. In this book, he draws from biblical and current-day stories to equip readers with practical examples on how to handle toxic people. Listen in here.
- Marriage is designed by God. And it can be both beautiful and difficult. Many Christian couples might feel as though their marriage is irredeemable. But John McGee and Scott Kedersha encourage struggling marriages with the redemptive work of the gospel on the ERLC Podcast. Listen here.
From The Public Square
In U.S., Decline of Christianity Continues at Rapid Pace
Pew Research Center
The religiously unaffiliated share of the population, consisting of people who describe their religious identity as atheist, agnostic or “nothing in particular,” now stands at 26%, up from 17% in 2009.
USCIRF Launches New Database of Religious Persecution Victims
Howard Friedman, Religion Clause
On Monday at an International Religious Freedom Roundtable in Washington, D.C., the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom announced that it has launched the Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) Victims List.
Law gives child sex assault victims more time to file suits
Adam Beam, Associated Press
California is giving childhood victims of sexual abuse more time to decide whether to file lawsuits, joining several states in expanding the statute of limitations for victims over warnings from school districts that the new rules could bankrupt them.
California governor signs bill requiring medication abortion at public colleges
Alexandra Svokos, ABC News
The College Student Right to Access Act requires that public colleges in California -- the University of California and California State University systems -- that have student health centers on campus also make available medication abortion.
