Elizabeth Cady Stanton... Wisdom from Days Gone By

“For years many a thinking people have had gloomy forebodings as to the result of the immense power of the church in our political affairs. . . . And the first step in the disestablishment of the church & of all churches is the taxation of church property. The government has no right to tax infidels for everything that takes the name of religion. For every dollar of church property untaxed, all other properties must be taxed one dollar more, and thus the poor man's home bears the burden of maintaining costly edifices from which he & his family are as effectively excluded--as though a policeman stood to bar their entrance, and in smaller towns all sects are building, building, building, not a little town in the western prairies but has its three & four churches & this immense accumulation of wealth is all exempt from taxation...

In the new world as well as the old these rich ecclesiastical corporations are a heavy load on the shoulders of the people, for what wealth escapes, the laboring masses are compelled to meet...

If all the church property in this country were taxed, in the same ratio poor widows are to day, we could soon roll off the national debt..." . .

Source [bold print mine]: Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815-1902), Part of an Unidentified Lecture Regarding Taxation on Church Property; c. 1877 "Freethought of the Day": 8/24/09; news@ffrf.org

Addendum (Me): To tax churches and other tax exempt organizations would not be to "eradicate" (certainly not my intent!) them; but would instead put them on equal footing - so to speak - with families (paying taxes on homesteads) and businesses (This is not a theocracy; it is a Capitalist, with some necessarily socialized aspects, system.)

Please do note that what was said by Stanton (an incredible woman activist) - is pertinent to the situation [a soaring national debt; a country that appears to be "falling apart at the seams;" a Nation, State, County and City (etc) that has to find ways to cut their budgets - and increase their revenues - before it is too late!) we find ourselves in today.

Just something to think about.

NS