You do know this doesnt mean “to establish” right?
It means “establishment “ as in “this establishment reserves the right to refuse service...
Also the term respecting doesnt mean “to respect”...it means “having to do with”.
In modern english it would read
Congress shall make no law having to do with any house of worship or property owned by a house of worship....
Congress needs to make a law to tax.
Does that open your eyes a bit?
They are forbidden from taxing any church...period...for ANY reason.
Campaign laws also dont apply.
Unfortunately these terms have been twisted by the left through the years...
There are historical precedents for the way the IRS proceeds in these cases: the English star chambers and the Spanish Inquisition (where the accused was not entitled to know what the evidence against him was).
I do not know that that is correct:
Tax exemptions were granted starting in 1894, apparently.
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-soi/tehistory.pdf
Some say earlier:
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ch/news/2002/may17.html
On the other hand:
http://hushmoney.org/501c3-facts.htm
So the power to grant exemptions is the same as the power to tax. Now they want to take those exemptions and beat the churches who disagree with them.
I get that.
Courts have upheld the tax exemptions of churches but from a quick perusal, its because churches perform a service government approves and needs. The exemptions do not violate the 1st Amendment. [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walz_v._Tax_Commission_of_the_City_of_New_York]
So I am still learning about the issue. I just think anytime you can tell the IRS to get stuffed, its a good idea. Some say even the IRS notes that Churches are ALWAYS exempt. If true, they can safely ignore what the IRS says.