How much does the Government of Canada subsidize religion? Over the next year, CFIC will be reviewing Canada Revenue Agency data to bring you the answer to this important question.
The right to be religious is a personal freedom we enjoy in Canada. However, Canadian taxpayers, as citizens of all faiths and citizens of no faith, should not be subsidizing the advancement of religion through tax exemptions. The right to be religious in Canada is important (freedom of religion). The need to retain Canada’s strength as a secular nation based on personal freedom, social responsibility and the rule of law is equally important (freedom from religion).
Click here to read Part 1: Canadian Taxpayers Funding the Advancement of Religion
Your premise is wrong. The tax Loss, as you put it, is actually an investment that reaps billions of dollars in revenue to good works done by religious charities. To the poor, new immigrants, sick, women, homeless, etc. That the Government underfunds.
I am a 100% atheist. But i agree 100% with Franz K.’s comments.
3 of my grand parents were born in the USSR . I know exactly what
secularism has done to Russia and Ukraine. the graft corruption and
dishonesty are unbelievable. I am an old man and i have seen that people
who attend church are ten times more honest than those that don’t.
How many of our young people who are hooked on drugs ever go to church.
Iknow many of them but have never seen one of them go to church. NEVER.
Tax exemption for churches is the best investment i’ve ever made.!!!!!!!!!!
I donate thousands of dollars to various charities most years.
I wanna hear how much CIFC SUPPORTERS donate to charities.
This is BS
Government policies can produce 10 times better outcomes when you elect competent politicians not religious hacks
Religion is commercially induced and dishonesty in it is overwhelming against honesty
All the religious behavior in the world has produced horrible outcomes
Secular government enhances religion religion due to not taking a side
All can participate in secular government
If religion ruled whose would end up outlawing all others as history has shown
how did you measure their honesty so accurately that you were able to ascertain that they were ten times more honest? why are religious marriages more likely to end in divorce? We’d be better off turning all churches into shelters, fitness facilities, counselling centers, etc.
Just because there are cutbacks and medicine education and social services are underfunded is not a justifiable reason for this antiquated funding model. And reporting for religious organizations is not scrutinized or audited in the way business is. These are businesses. The answer to the question “where would we be without faith based charity?” Should be “Let’s support secular support systems for an equal amount of time and then compare”.
Not necessarily. Many churches do little to no local humanitarian work. Money is spent within the church or sent to headquarters in other countries. This position is of course relevant to many religions but there is no requirement that the churches spend the money helping the community. And there is no oversight to how it is spent.
If a religious organization wishes to establish a charity for the purpose of helping the less forunate, then of course they should receive the same tax credits as other charities. But allowing the same credits for monies donated directly to the church to e used
as they see fit should not be allowed.
The homeless crisis could be avoided right here right now. It should’ve the ( good doers) religious responsibilities to skelter the homeless. These are large buildings that sit empty for the majority of time.
The premise is not wrong! When you claim that “billions of dollars” are spent on “good works done by religious charities”, you have to back it up with facts of how they help “the poor, new immigrants, sick, women, and the homeless”. Donations, especially to religious charities in a society as rich as Canada’s, are given with an ulterior motive that is best expressed by the Australian satirist Tim Minchin with the line “I’ll give you 50 bucks to take away my guilt” in his rather rudely titled song “F**k the Poor”.
A free meal on Thanksgiving doesn’t give the homeless a home. A pair of second-hand shoes doesn’t enable a single mother to feed her child or children properly.
So, please don’t give me your holier than thou attitude about all the good work done by religious charities. Either back up your claim with factual data or state honestly that you believe it to be so.
No, literally nothing you just listed happens..
But not without proselytizing. We are a secular country. Churches most definitely should have to abide by the same tax laws as any charitable organization. Discrimination or proselytizing should not be a factor for the benefits a church provides. If they rent space as a means of revenue then they must not discriminate who rents them. If they provide food for the Hungary then they can’t discriminate as to whom this service is a benefit to, without proselytizing. If they do discriminate then they should be subject to the same tax law as any other business. Here in Canada we are not ruled by the church. We have decided as a people to not tolerate discrimination based on gender, race, orientation, religion or capability. And should not accept the validity of such entities that would flaunt not only the will of the people but to have the audacity and arrogance to believe they are infallible and the owners of absolution.
It seems to me that the human brain is wired for “safety first”….similar to the discussions 30 – 40 years ago about how lowering the speed limit would PREVENT climate change – no politicians are willing to risk losing voter support…science is not enough to make change; people’s brain wiring may need to change before much in the world can change…it may be happening, but it is a slow process by our standards….
I too disagree with your premise. Albeit I do not hold their religious beliefs and find some of them odious to say the least, religious communities provide an important social service not only to their members but to the community at large.
I myself am a non-theist but a member of the First Unitarian Congregation of Ottawa where there is great tolerance for us disbelievers. The FirstU church provides a caring and loving community and is very socially active in the community with members engaged in issues such as low cost community housing and support for refugee families among many other social responsibility issues. The Congregation in the past at two separate times took two people into sanctuary to prevent their deportation from Canada and worked to give them residency and bring their immediate family members to Canada. As an ex-treasurer of the Congregation I can say unequivocally that without tax-free status the Congregation would not survive to the detriment of not only its members and the community in Ottawa but also the cause of liberal religion in Canada.
This report is only a start. Consider the millions and millions that are given to support faith based addiction recovery. The stats of success in a faith based program have been VASTLY over stated yet “12 step” is the cultural norm and not questioned by most and sadly a lot of medical professionals. I started The Non Religious Liberty Task Force (which Yes is a response to the Mike Pence Religious Liberty Task Force). Our group want to EQUAL money from faith based “medical practice” to science based, secular addiction recovery. Right now it is almost non existent. I work with SMART but it’s an uphill struggle. We don’t have faith based cancer cures yet here we are in 2019 telling people to turn there lives over to imaginary beings in order to get well!
Shelter*
There’s a confusion here that is easily cleared up.
“Being religious” should not in itself be a tax-deductible or tax exempted activity.
All other charities (except religious organizations) can only issue tax receipts and maintain their charitable status by delivering specific outcomes within a CRA approved mandate.
Religious organizations do not have those boundaries – they could raise money to fund conversion therapy for homosexuals, or to put up a billboard that says immigrants are bad for Canada, and they could accept tax receipted donations for this, get a rebate on their GST, etc.
Many religious organizations do conduct, as part of their operations, activities that would likely meet the CRA standards applicable to non-religious organizations (food banks, homeless shelter, etc). However, this religious organization should (and should be required) to established charitable organizations to conduct these charitable activities (many have in fact done this) so that the activities of their Church and the exercise of their beliefs is not being taxpayer-subsidized as “charitable” it is only the charitable activities that are appropriately categorized in this way.
In other words – keep up the good work – but don’t mix it in with religious activities that would not qualify as charitable if not for the archaic regulation whereby the entirety of religious organization activity qualifies for these tax exemptions.
I agree entirely with Keenan Wellar!
I am a member of CFI and…
As for Mr Thauberger, please note that I and other members of my family do not chose to exchange gifts at “Christmas “, instead we donate to non religious charities.
I have volunteered my services for many years to non religious organizations.
I resent Mr. Thauberger’s view that church goers are more honest than non church goers. He needs to look at findings concerning the percentage of religious prison inmates vs non believers. Non believers form less than 1/2 of 1% of inmates in U.S. prisons ( can only suspect the same can be said of Canadian prisons)
Example, “Doctors without Borders” can found at most disasters providing aid to the needy with no thought of being motivated by a supernatural force, but rather by a true love for fellow human beings. Shifting government support from the advancement of religion to such organizations would be far better investment.
The needs of few do not outweigh the needs of many. Religious groups get too rich and get away with murder.
Like most, I work to pay for my own life. I pay taxes out the ass, and here we have religious groups that have amassed billions and can’t afford to pay? Don’t make me fucking cringe.
Let’s also not forget the lack of Justice being upheld against the crimes of religion. If you want to believe, pay for it yourself. I don’t and shouldn’t have my taxes go to garbage I don’t agree with.
How can you collect any form of social assistance if you don’t even pay into the fucking government? This shit is just insane.
Thank you jeebus!
I’m an atheist, but I have to object to the CFI confusing tax exemption with subsidy.
The title of the article is, “The Cost of Religion in Canada”. These people getting an exemption for contributing to a non-profit doesn’t cost me any money as a Canadian.
Yes, the government loses potential revenue, but so what? I would need convincing these dollars would be better spent if CRA got them. Let’s face it, Canadian governments overspend so much that a few billion is now a drop in the bucket.
A funny part of this situation is that the influence of religious institutions is due grow in a generation or two. New Canadians are often more religious than multi-generational Canadians. I’m sure this reality makes you uncomfortable. Well, thems the brakes.