Opinion Page: Will Americans Excommunicate Religious Charities?

This picture from Good Faith Media

Philanthropy Today, April 17, 2023:

A new major analysis of views on charitable giving and the meaning and purpose of philanthropy finds that less than half of Americans believe organizations whose purposes are “religious services” deserve federal tax-exempt status.

The recently released, detailed study, “What Americans Think About Philanthropy and Nonprofits,” was conducted last summer by the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, which posed a battery of questions to 1,334 U.S. residents aged 18 or older. The undertaking was prompted by increasing public concern about “the influential role of philanthropy in American society to address issues and solve problems,” and the persistent decrease in charitable giving by Americans since the 2008 “Great Recession.”

In what might be the report’s most troubling finding, only 48.5 percent of those surveyed agreed – when asked “Do you believe that 501(c)(3)s should be allowed to support the following activities or goals?”—that “religious services” should qualify the federal tax-exempt status. In comparison, 57.5 percent qualified “voter mobilization,” 67 percent agreed with “criminal justice reform,” and 83 percent for “K-12 education” as qualifying for the important status.

At 14.2 per cent, only political campaign contributions ranked lower than “religious services.”

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For our previous coverage, see here.

darryll jones