Are religious colleges at risk if Supreme Court approves same-sex marriage?

Fox News ^ | 5/7/15 | Shannon Bream

[markomalley]

Religious freedom advocates are flagging a mostly-missed moment from last week's Supreme Court arguments over the constitutionality of same-sex marriage, calling it a warning sign.

They point to an exchange between Justice Samuel Alito and the administration's top lawyer, Solicitor General Donald Verrilli.Alito asked if, in the event the Supreme Court holds that there is a constitutional right to same-sex marriage, would religious colleges risk losing their tax-exempt status if they continued to advocate for traditional marriage only.

Verrilli responded, "I don't deny that ... It is going to be an issue."

Travis Weber, Director of the Family Research Council's Center for Religious Liberty, said he believed Verrilli's logic would eventually extend to churches and just about "anyone holding a traditional view of marriage."

Weber warned that if the current trend continues, those who refuse to endorse same-sex marriage could face "fines, potentially imprisonment."

[rmichaelj]

Donations to Churches are also tax exempt. It is thought that if those donations are taxable, people will not donate as much.

[Campion]

Taking away the tax exemption also means that contributions aren’t deductible. That’s a pretty big deal. It also may make those colleges subject to real estate taxes.

[GreyFriar]

Mark, thank you for posting this article on an attack against Christian institutions that Protestants and Catholics should unite together against.

[GreyFriar]

ping

[jch10]

Hey, be sure to include the Muslim religion in this. They must accept anything imposed on Christian religion.

[GailA]

I wish more would apply the same logic to the 501C3 tax exemptions for churches. If churches do so, so they must do Caesar’s bidding.

[Politicalkiddo]

The SCOTUS doesn’t make laws. It interprets them.

[KenD]

I did a study one year as to how much I'd have to donate in order to appreciably change my federal tax bill and was shocked at how minor that deduction was THAT YEAR. Not sure about other situations and I haven't repeated that.

As to property taxes, I think that has to do with being a non-profit. 501(c)4 organizations are also non-profits and I'm pretty sure they don't pay property taxes.

I suspect that MOST contributions to churches come about out of the joy one gets when supporting God's work. If people are donating to churches purely on the basis of tax deductibility I'm not sure that's healthy either.

SO... can a church establish a charitable foundation separate from the church to receive larger tax deductible donations and then use that money for church projects / outreach, etc.? That might overcome the deductibility issue. Of course the church would still need to have enough donated to cover operating costs.

[pilipo]

The SCOTUS doesn’t make laws. It interprets them.

And, in so doing, unmakes them.

[Yosemitest]

IFthe Supreme Court approves same-sex marriage, ... THEN IT BECOMES ANTI CHRIST !



TO TOLERATE HOMOSEXUALS IS EVIL.
This is what we get when we FAIL to OBEY God.
For it is written:

“ For whosoever shall commit ANY of these abominations,
even the SOULS that commit them
SHALL BE CUT OFF from among their people. ”

Those who support homosexuals are against our Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ.
These anti Christ people only bring destruction on us ALL.
I have NO sympathy for homosexuals!

Homosexuality is a "Mark" of disobedience.

It was given by our Heavenly Father to test us
to see ... if we will OBEY our Heavenly Father,
and abide by His commandments, statues, and ordinances.

Someone once asked

"Why are they [homosexuals] all so angry?"

The answer is in the definition of "REPROBATE".

rep·ro·bate \ˈre-prə-ˌbāt\ a. [L. reprobatus, reprobo, to disallow; re and probo, to prove.]

1. Not enduring proof or trial; not of standard purity or fineness; disallowed; rejected.


Reprobate silver shall men call them, because the Lord hath rejected them. Jer. 6.




2. Abandoned in sin; lost to virtue or grace.

They profess that they know God, but in works deny him, being abominable and disobedient, and to every good work reprobate. Titus 1.

3. Abandoned to error, or in apostasy. 2Tim. 3.

And the reason"why" is given in the Bible.

God has a cure for homosexuals.

But will we OBEY our Heavenly Father?

"Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect
that God is just,
that his justice cannot sleep forever."

[YouGoTexasGirl]

My thoughts also. I am against marriage other than one man and one wife..forever!

My niece played sports at a TX. religious college. She would come to the dorm between classes and find her roommate and fellow team players in bed together taking a nap. That was about a decade ago. Made me sick to hear this. She had to continue to tell them she “wasn’t that way”.

[longfellowsmuse]

Yes, there are a few. Benedictine in Kansas and The University of Mary in North Dakota to name two. These are not your big name schools like Notre Dame, but they provide an excellent education, are truly Catholic and come with a cheaper price tag.

[MrB]

Scotus isn’t supposed to make laws.

But liberals have relied on packing the courts to get their way
when the rest of the system balked them.

[MarkRegal05]

The judiciary has become, to an extent, a mega-veto. If the liberals don’t like a law or an election outcome, they sue. The only way to override its decisions is to amend the Constitution or to replace jurists.

[RnMomof7]

You know I really believe we need to “keep looking up” ... i believe we now live in Romans 1 time...

[gingerbread]

REALLY? Now, what you say is probably true, but how many BAD DECISSIONS have SCOTUS made in the last few years? You have forgotten the “DRED SCOT DECISION”? That, by the way caused the civil war. And of course, the ROE Vs WADE, another bad decission. And last but not least, there was OBAMA CARE.

[bjorn14]

This is only part of the equation. If they lose their tax-expempt status then individuals cannot deduct their donations from their taxes.

[Politicalkiddo]

I never said they were successful at interpreting these laws. Just saying that the idiots in Congress are the ones who makes bad laws.

[Politicalkiddo]

Of course. I will be the first to tell you that the SCOTUS is evil.

[sarge83]

Most churches will stop performing weddings period. Weddings will be performed by pastors in secret like in the movie Brave Heart.

Next comes the banning of pastors from speaking against homosexuality in the pulpit. It will be labeled hate speech and the 1st Amendment be damned.