To: WSFAlist at keithlynch.net
Date: Fri, 23 Aug 2002 15:56:31 -0400
Subject: [WSFA] Re: Scientology as a business
From: ronkean at juno.com
Reply-To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at keithlynch.net>

On Fri, 23 Aug 2002 11:50:40 -0700 (PDT) Samuel Lubell
<samlubell at yahoo.com> writes:
>
> --- Steve Smith <sgs at aginc.net> wrote:
> >
> > Actually, the Scientologists in Germany pushed it
> > even further.  They
> > weren't just a tax scam -- they had gotten into out
> > and out real estate
> > fraud.  In the US, they're the only "religous"
> > organization that has
> > fixed-price "services" that are tax deductable.
> > Thank you, George Bush
> > the Elder.
> >
>
> Don't churches charge a price for membership in the
> church?  I know synagogues do.
>

Synagogues, I am told, customarily have fixed price memberships in the
form of a minimum set fee.  That is an entirely reasonable way to cover
the cost of operation, and the synagogue is essentially non-profit.
Christian churches almost never have fixed membership fees.  Instead,
members and visitors are asked to contribute as they see fit when the
collection plate is passed.  Those who formally join as members of a
Christian congregation are expected to contribute on a regular basis
according to their means, and the suggestion is reinforced by
periodically sending members a packet of envelopes to use for depositing
money or checks in the plate, or to mail in, if they prefer.  In Catholic
churches, any Catholic is welcome at Mass, and (if they have not been
ex-communicated) at Communion, and there is a 'poor box' at the entrance
to the church where visitors may drop in money when they visit the church
at a time when services are not being held.

Scientology, in contrast, is set up to extract enormous amounts of money
from the members.  One can easily spend tens of thousands of dollars
going through the auditing programs.  Effectively, Scientology is a
for-profit business, sort of like a pyramid scheme, where newcomers pay
and the elite prospers.  Scientolgy also operates business enterprises
apart from the practice of Scientology, and they may try to get members
to work in support of those enterprises, for minimal pay.

I don't think Scientology was set up primarily as a tax scam.  They
simply take advantage of the religious tax exemption, just as any
business would take advantage of whatever tax reduction opportunites are
available.  For one thing, the tax-scam aspect does not operate to
benefit the members, but rather to benefit the insiders.  No one will
save money on taxes by joining the Church of Scientology as a new member.
 It would better be called a religious scam.

Some Christian churches operate extensive tax-exempt programs which
benefit the members, such as schools, housing assistance, social clubs,
etc.  Some immigrant communities (e.g. Egyptian Copts) have discovered
that they can have their own community services be tax exempt by
operating under the aegis of a church.

Ron Kean

.

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