Civil Rights Restoration Act
The fundamentalist outcry over the civil rights bill was nothing short of stupefying.
Our churches insist that they must go tax free to guarantee a land of religious freedom. The justification is that their tax-free status keeps the government from using selectively applied tax laws to favor the religions of its choice.
But the recent conflict over extension of the civil rights act shows that churches which do not pay out tax dollars are quite eager to take them in, even though it would seem that the arguments about religious freedom would apply with equal force to subsidies as well as to taxes.
It is hard to feel any sympathy for these churches. With their usual hypocrisy they raise a great hue and bellow about religious freedom when they simply want money clear of requirements that they practice what they preach. That is, be just to the afflicted, merciful to the sick, and compassionate to the downtrodden.
Hallelujah to the almighty dollar.
STEPHENIE J. FREDERICK
Altadena
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