This series explores the credo behind the Seven Deadly Sins and the nearly comical manner that Christian based religion disobeys them. As a sober parallel to the Sin’s menace, all paintings are layered with the Eight Auspicious Symbols represented in teachings of the Buddha.
Gluttony. The mind goes to a sweaty blob scarfing down a burger, grease spilling between pudgy fingers. Perhaps food and drink are a perfectly relatable token of how damaging overindulgence can be. Look around the U.S- the phrase, too much of a good thing, must be taken critically when looking at the parallel skyrocket of fast food chains and heart disease. It’s possible that the sin of Gluttony has never been more applicable, but, I am turning the mirror onto the church here, and the reflection is clear when Gluttony is examined beyond physical consumption and broadened to simply wanting more, taking more and not giving anything in return. Aiming the scope of this sin back onto religious organizations, the error of excess is undeniable and of all things, legal.
There are more than 300,000 churches in the country that are collecting money, while lapping up tax exemptions like an new dieter on their cheat day. Why wouldn’t they? Our forefathers had good intentions in keeping churches untaxed, but now, it’s similar to the second amendment. It made a lot of sense in the 1700’s, but doesn’t really translate 200 years later.
Churches are forms of charity, keep them untaxed so that they may do good in their communities. This, along with the assurance that keeping churches from government reach allows for seamless separation of church and state, therefore, no political campaign or party can use churches for political gain, so…. yeah, naturally, that worked out perfectly.
Commonly, giving charitable establishments breaks only helps their cause and the good of people overall. So, I plugged the question into Almighty Google and I wasn’t surprised by what I saw. For instance, according to one site (linked below), a Tampa study showed that the Mormon church spends about 0.7% of their revenue annually on charitable donations and causes. Much like the mega-Mormon church, others have shown to be infuriatingly similar. According to the same study, of 271 congregations, an average of 71% of revenue is applied to ‘operating expenses’, the rest dwindling down to other costs, charity being a small slice of the money pie. Some Atheist organizations have threatened churches who ignore these laws, but, clearly, unless the IRS is wagging their finger, why would they care?
Who needs charity anyway? Those afflicted with AIDS in Africa? America’s foster children? Pshh, as long as they have the Bible and continue the lineage of generations duped by religion, they will be fine.
God on the other hand, damn it. He wants His money.
If churches can only find loose change for actual goodwill, then at the very least, their connection to politics is null? Aaaaaaactaully, just recently, some corrupt little fingers signed Executive Orders pushing for a weakening of the Johnson Amendment, a 60 year old protection of the church’s ability to encroach into the political spectrum and influence voters with religion.
Anyone using God as a chess piece should not be allowed to promote or oppose candidates in a democracy. That’s exactly what has happened though, and we have to sit back and watch as these suited monsters stand at their podiums, regurgitating the Bible to defend separating migrant families or riling up MAGA hatters by harping that the sanctity of families is at risk because homosexuality exists.
So, given this reality, shouldn’t we be able to tax places like Westbury Baptist? A “church” that uses most of its energy making hateful signs and sending out their loudest congregants into the streets to scream at the public about how they’re going to burn? That goes for many, many other religious establishments that preach politics from the pulpit, sponsor campaigns and decree that follower’s souls are in jeopardy based upon their votes. Now, there’s a puckered tangerine running America, put there by, among others, congregations influenced by political oration from church leaders. The irony is not lost that many of these groups, who hold up and demand faith based politics, are also complaining about the freeloading welfare recipients or illegal migrants that don’t pay taxes…
Hence gluttony falls right into this reality: Religious organizations taking more, indulging in heinous tax breaks, but not willing to give back with the same fervor. As they guzzle down funds, they also grow in numbers, gaining more followers, more servants to collect tithing from, more credulous people who’ll pay when the church shoves God into the whited-out space where the real agenda lies. Gluttony is what this depiction represents; Churches are, after all, very well disguised banks. If there were to be a congregation that gathered in a columned building with dollar signs replacing Mary in the stained glass, would anyone notice? Buddha’s Endless knot flows behind the building, lacing into an infinite loop. The endless knot represents how everything in life is interlocked in a constant flow of kharma. The overlapping knot shows the twists and turns of beings on Earth, living together as one. This delicate flow is imbalanced by the insatiable hunger for power the church possesses, devouring people by feeding on their fears, then taking the lax laws and essentially stuffing the extra cash into their leader’s pockets. Imagine the abundance of available funding for things like universal healthcare, or school lunch programs, if churches were held to the same standards as every other business, bank or lemonade stand out there?
As a send off, I’ve listed below some items that are taxed in various areas of the US. Some are strange, others are downright maddening, but they are taxed nonetheless . Remember these items when you throw your own taxed dollars into that Holy collection plate or when you hear the Bible quoted by wealthy politicians. Religion is a business, and we should tax it like one.
Nudity Sales Tax- Utah, 10% tax on any sexually explicit businesses. The Lord is watching, cover up those elbows, ladies.
Sparklers Tax- West Virginia, up to 6% sales tax during the Fourth of July.
Tattoo Tax- Arkansas, 6% sales tax.
Bagel Cutting Tax- New York, literally an 8 cent tax on any “altered” bagels.
Belt Buckle Tax- Texas, since buckles are not a “form of clothing”.
Tampon Tax- Most of the United States, classified as a non-essential good.. Clearly, a natural occurrence in our body, required to make life, is the same as a grocery bag or leftover container at a restaurant.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/nov/20/us-churches-tax-exemption-faithbased-politics