Unreasonable
Feeling overwhelmed by the relentless attack on American Democracy by the Religious Right? Welcome to Unreasonable: sane conversations for a country that's lost its friggin' mind. But Unreasonable is more than a podcast. It’s the start of a movement to reverse the inexorable rise of religious fanaticism taking over our government and our lives, on issues from public education, to women’s reproductive health, to the mainstreaming of loud-and-proud racism. Here we not only learn together what in the world's going on with our country, we develop an action plan to move America forward. It’s time for all of us who believe in the Separation of Church and State to unite — as the majority of Americans we are — in the name of democracy, common sense and kindness. Is that really so unreasonable?
Unreasonable
"How Religious Organizations Game The IRS" with Prof. Lloyd Hitoshi Mayer
Despite the New Testament’s recording of its main character making a clear distinction between what man owes his government (taxes) and his lord (devotion), in real life it’s never quite worked out that way. Churches have been tax-exempt since time immemorial. Today, the very idea of asking houses of worship to pay their fair share is a non-starter. Much like asking this country to elect a woman president.
At a time when the IRS is stretched thin and overwhelmed by its own complexity, religious organizations are leveraging loopholes to take advantage of the tax code and pastors are increasingly, and egregiously, flouting electioneering from the pulpit (an activity restricted by the Johnson Amendment). Further, the incoming administration has already made clear its intent to declare nonprofits that oppose its policies terrorist organizations, thereby stripping them of their nonprofit status and thus their ability to collect tax-deductible donations, their very lifeblood.
Lloyd Hitoshi Mayer, professor of nonprofit law at Notre Dame University, is our Virgil, guiding us with wisdom and humor through this holy hellscape of taxes and religion.
