GORDON ASKS:<\/p>\n
(Paraphrased) Secularists challenge tax exemptions for houses of worship,\u00a0saying this denies valuable revenue to communities that get little or nothing in return. True?<\/p>\n
THE GUY ANSWERS:<\/p>\n
False, judging from new scholarly research.<\/p>\n
Putting money aside for a moment, those knowledgeable about troubled urban neighborhoods will especially shudder to think what local conditions might be like if taxation forced financially strapped congregations to disband. Even small, struggling flocks that lack\u00a0the money for professional social services provide their members (according to the members themselves) spiritual and emotional uplift and fellowship that can also enhance their neighborhoods. Numerous surveys indicate that people involved with religious faiths often gain in perceived well-being.<\/p>\n
That said, such benefits are subjective and difficult to measure, and in any event secularists will contend that they do not make up for the property taxes cities lose when churches (or synagogues or mosques) are exempt. Secularists are less likely to protest tax exemptions enjoyed by groups that promote a secular worldview.\u00a0The Guy has long assumed that in addition to personal benefits, which indeed are incalculable, it seems plausible that congregations help their areas economically, but admits his hunch has\u00a0been based on mere anecdotal evidence and sentiment.<\/p>\n
But now we have some solid data on economic impact. This year an academic journal in this field reported intriguing research by a team led by Ram A. Cnaan of the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy and Practice. Cnaan, a prolific scholar on the societal effects of non-profit groups in the U.S. and internationally, is the school\u2019s associate dean for research and chairs its doctoral program in social welfare. Cnaan and his colleagues boldly contend that benefits to the community can be assessed in hard dollar terms and that the totals are impressive.<\/p>\n
In a preliminary phase of this research, Cnaan looked at 18 economic factors and estimated the rough value of a typical urban congregation\u2019s contribution to the local economy at $476,663 per year. Applying the latest \u201cvaluation\u201d theory, the 2013 follow-up examines in greater detail 49 factors in the operations of a dozen Philadelphia congregations, 10 Protestant, one Catholic, and one Jewish. The team calculates their total economic contribution at $51.85 million a year or an average of $4.32 million per congregation. The researchers assert that the actual impact is very likely greater than that. For instance, they did not estimate the value of lower crime rates and higher housing values when congregations are present; or individual advancement provided through music performance, public speaking, and leadership training; or personal help for neighbors who are not members of the congregation.<\/p>\n
The most obvious contribution in dollar terms is a congregation\u2019s annual spending, including building projects. Other points are the worth of religious schooling; \u201cmagnet effect\u201d in spending by outsiders attending worship and special events; hourly value of volunteers\u2019 work in the neighborhood; formal social services; informal aid; job training and placement; fostering of local business startups and investment; specific cases of preventing suicide, substance abuse, and spousal abuse; verifiable health benefits; teaching of pro-social values to youths; elder care; and much else.<\/p>\n
The report says there are no reliable data on how much cities lose in property taxes but that\u2019s \u201calmost certainly outweighed by the benefits documented in this study.\u201d It also says the tax loss \u201cis smaller than it may first appear\u201d because buildings of defunct city churches usually turn into vacant lots or\u00a0go to\u00a0other non-profits that pay no taxes. The researchers say religious organizations can \u201cuse our methodology to counter those who wish to take away congregational tax exemptions\u201d and the findings can inform government, policy analysts, scholars, and the non-profit world in general.<\/p>\n
The 12 congregations, not particularly representative of the city as a whole, were chosen for intensive study because they were willing to open up full information for previous projects with Partners for Sacred Places, a Philadelphia-based historic preservation agency that has advised congregations nationwide. The researchers regard the 2013 results as a\u00a0\u201cpilot study\u201d of new valuation techniques and will next examine benefits provided by 100 congregations in Chicago, Fort Worth, and Philadelphia.<\/p>\n
Apart from the money angle, strict secularists and church-state separationists may also object that even indirect aid via tax exemption violates the U.S. Constitution\u2019s ban on an \u201cestablishment of religion.\u201d But the U.S. Supreme Court rejected that contention by 8-1 in the 1970 \u201cWalz v. Tax Commission of the City of New York\u201d decision. The lone dissenter, liberal Justice William Douglas, insisted that \u201cgovernment may not provide or finance worship.\u201d However, the high court majority\u00a0ruled that exemptions for religious buildings have existed since Colonial days without \u201cestablishment\u201d problems, that indirect benefits are different from direct government payments that would be illegal, and that houses of worship get no special favors denied to other non-profit community organizations. Significantly, the court stated that all types of non-profits, including religious ones, provide diversity and \u201cbeneficial and stabilizing influences in community life\u201d that make exemption \u201cuseful, desirable, and in the public interest.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cnaan team\u2019s full report ($37 charge for 24-hour access):<\/p>\n