On Wed, 19 May 2004 01:41:12 +0100, William T Goodall <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > - in Texas > > http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/state/8692961.htm?1c > > "AUSTIN - Unitarian Universalists have for decades presided over > births, marriages and memorials. The church operates in every state, > with more than 5,000 members in Texas alone. > > But according to the office of Texas Comptroller Carole Keeton > Strayhorn, a Denison Unitarian church isn't really a religious > organization -- at least for tax purposes. Its reasoning: the > organization "does not have one system of belief." > > Never before -- not in this state or any other -- has a government > agency denied Unitarians tax-exempt status because of the group's > religious philosophy, church officials say. Strayhorn's ruling clearly > infringes upon religious liberties, said Dan Althoff, board president > for the Denison congregation that was rejected for tax exemption by the > comptroller's office. > > "I was surprised -- surprised and shocked -- because the Unitarian > church in the United States has a very long history," said Althoff, who > notes that father-and-son presidents John Adams and John Quincy Adams > were both Unitarians. > > His church is just one of several Unitarian congregations in North > Texas, including churches in Fort Worth, Arlington and Southlake." > > -- > William T Goodall
Not to be felicitious but OH MY GOD! I had been saying that we had to stop the takeover of the United States by intolerants who seek to deny rights to others. I said we had to defend the rights of people we may not agree with because next time they could come for us. I never really expected to be among the groups they come after, at least this year. More from the article: The comptroller's office has not always barred "creedless" religions from tax exemption, said Douglas Laycock, a University of Texas law professor who specializes in religious liberty issues. That standard first came up in 1997, when then-Comptroller Sharp ruled against the Ethical Culture Fellowship of Austin. In making that decision, Sharp overturned the recommendation of his staff. The Ethical Culture Fellowship sued, claiming that Sharp overstepped his authority. Allied with the group in the ongoing lawsuit are pastors from a broad range of faiths, including Baptists, Lutherans and Mennonites. Both the lower court and the Texas Supreme Court have ruled against the state's decision. In one opinion, an appeals court said the comptroller's test "fails to include the whole range of belief systems that may, in our diverse and pluralistic society, merit the First Amendment protection." Strayhorn vows to continue the legal fight to the U.S. Supreme Court, if necessary. "Otherwise, any wannabe cult who dresses up and parades down Sixth Street on Halloween will be applying for an exemption," she said in a April 23 news release. Despite its lack of a specific creed, Unitarian Universalism is as much a religion as any other, Althoff said. From his perspective, religion is not just about the answers to life's big questions, but also calls on people to evaluate the questions themselves. "It seems to me that any [group] that is specifically organized to address and explore the issues of what constitutes the good life, both here and perhaps in the afterworld, would qualify" as a religion, Althoff said. The Rev. Anthony David, lead pastor of Pathways Church in Southlake, said he is disturbed by the comptroller's decisions because it ignores Unitarian Universalists' belief that spiritual fulfillment can emerge in "different ways at different levels." "It reflects an incredible misunderstanding of what a church needs to look like," David said. Pathways teaches that God is a term that describes the source of ultimate meaning and purpose, but the church does not advocate a one-size-fits-all theology, David said. "Creedlessness doesn't mean no belief or anything goes," he said. Craig Roshaven of Fort Worth's First Jefferson Unitarian Universalist Church said he has followed the comptroller's decisions with growing dismay. His group has tax-exempt status, but he wonders what's to prevent Strayhorn from revoking it. "The comptroller's logic could be applied to any of us," he said. Ancira said the comptroller's office has no plans for such reversals. But then again, said Ancira, "There's nothing preventing us from doing so." ~~~~ The last couple of years I have seen political idiocies that boggle the mind. To expect a leading candidate for governor of Texas to try to disenfranchise a church with two past US presidents as members is staggering. First they came for the Communists, and I didn't speak up, because I wasn't a Communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak up, because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn't speak up, because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me, and by that time there was no one left to speak up for me. - by Rev. Martin Niemoller, 1945 "Truth is a pathless land, and you cannot approach it by any path whatsoever, by any religion, by any sect. Truth, being limitless, unconditioned, unapproachable by any path whatsoever, cannot beorganized; nor should any organisation be formed to lead or to coerce people along any particular path." ~Krishnamurti Gary #1 on Google for Liberal News
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