 |
|
|
|
 A new report finds that religious groups engaged in lobbying or advocacy around Washington employ at least 1,000 people.
November 22nd, 2011
12:29 PM ET
Report tracks explosion of religious lobbying in WashingtonBy Dan Gilgoff, CNN.com Religion Editor (CNN) - Lobbying and advocacy by religious groups in Washington have exploded in recent decades, increasing fivefold since 1970 to become a nearly $400 million industry, a new Pew report finds. More than 200 groups are doing faith-related lobbying and advocacy in the nation’s capital, compared to fewer than 40 in 1970, according to the report. Put together, the groups employ at least 1,000 people. The report, released Monday by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion and Public Life, found that religious groups spend $390 million a year to influence U.S. domestic and foreign policy. “About one-in-five religious advocacy organizations in Washington have a Roman Catholic perspective (19%) and a similar proportion is evangelical Protestant in outlook (18%), while 12% are Jewish and 8% are mainline Protestant,” according to the report, called "Lobbying for the Faithful: Religious Advocacy Groups in Washington, D.C." “But many smaller U.S. religious groups, including Baha’is, Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs, also have established advocacy organizations in the Washington area,” the report said. The number of Muslim groups engaged in lobbying and advocacy in Washington (17) is about the same as the number of mainline Protestant groups engaged in such work (16). The report said that the most common domestic issues for religious groups are: - The relationship between church and state; - Civil rights and liberties for religious and other minorities; - Bioethics and life issues, including abortion, capital punishment and end-of-life issues; - Family/marriage issues, including definition of marriage, domestic violence and fatherhood initiatives. The top international issues for religious groups are religious freedom, human rights, debt relief and other economic issues, and the promotion of peace and democracy, the report found. |
  About this blog
The CNN Belief Blog covers the faith angles of the day's biggest stories, from breaking news to politics to entertainment, fostering a global conversation about the role of religion and belief in readers' lives. It's edited by CNN's Daniel Burke with contributions from Eric Marrapodi and CNN's worldwide news gathering team.  |
|
|
|
TAX religion like everybody else since they want no separtation of church and state...No more tax exempt.Attn. IRS
Tax all churches and religious organizations.
...and these groups are tax empt for what reason?
It astounds me that make-believe is allowed (and even encouraged) to make its way into public policy decision making. There are good, rational reasons for making laws. There's no need to invoke the make-believe. What's worse is that make-believe is such an integral part of so many policy decisions. It isn't right, it isn't moral, it isn't necessary, and it mucks up the whole system.
AMEN! I CONCUR!
It's ironic that you call yourself "freethinksman".
First, churches are not taxed because it burdens the right to free exercise of religion.
Second, assuming categorically - and without argument - that any law proposed by a religious lobbying group is based on "make believe" and is "irrational" tends to show that you haven't thought much about politics. If a religious groups lobbies for an end to capital punishment, is a law prohibiting capital punishment therefore invalid?
The problem is you're assuming the source of the law - rather than the law itself - has a bearing on the law's legitimacy.
@Nah That is not the reason why churches aren't taxed. They are not taxed because nearly 100% of the US population used churches when the law went into effect, so it was a way to give people what they wanted. Freedom of religion is not burdened at all – there is no right to have a place of worship, and the fact that many religions want to have a place of worship is irrelevant. There are some that want whole compounds for themselves too, but we don't tax-exempt them.
I generally am OK with religions being tax exempt, but they should absolutely not be allowed to use tax exempt money for lobbying. We might need to revisit that as well, as many people in the US (granted, nowhere near a majority) aren't using organized religions, and the added burden on the infrastructure needs to be paid for. But the same could be said for community basketball courts, even though they are nowhere near the same scale...
@NAH: Taxing a church would put exactly the same burden on it as taxing a billboard would burden free speech. Fail. And I did not not mean to infer that all causes promoted by make-believists are themselves make-believe or inherently bad. It's only those causes which invoke the make-believe as their justification that I have a problem with. Take human stem cell research for example. What kind of bizarre morality equates a 3 day old embryo with a living, breathing kid suffering from leukemia? The Make-Believists would argue both have the same moral worth. That's not only bad science, it's patently immoral. It's only make-believe that argues a human soul exists in that embryo, and it's only a make-believe god that would care. Women's bodies self-abort more than 80% of all fertilized eggs- often without the woman even knowing. Are we supposed to hold their bodies responsible for terminating a human life? Come on! This would all be a bad, cruel joke if Make-Believe didn't have such profound effects on public policy.
Kind of ironic since religion in general is in decline. This smacks of corporate lobbyists disguising themselves as religious lobbyists.
I AGREE WITH MONKEY MAN AND HIS RELIGON
We keep hearing we are the greatest country on the planet.
This is true..however it should not stop us from taking what is good from other countries.
Most notable, most countries ban religions from interfering with the legislative process.
This is *not* true
DID YOU PEOPLE KNOW THAT GOOD AND EVIL ARE ONLY POINT OF VIEWS WHILE ONE THINKS THERE DOING RIGHT THE OTHER DOESN'T THINK THAT SO WHATS WHAT
Thats why God is on both sides of every war.
A couple of tips just for you, Earl: 1) Take off caps lock. 2) Take a refresher course in English Composition. 3) Never use the phrase "you people" - it's antagonistic (you may have to look that up . . . go ahead, we'll wait . . .)
Leaf – Nice, that actually made me chuckle out loud at work. Thanks, I needed that.
What's even cuter is when you claim that you have won an argument without offering one counter argument aside from whatever you call your last comment. You must be a christian.
deicide?
Ya, Just switched the words around to be more factual.
good music..the lead singer is kind of an idiot though.
"...I always distrust people who know so much about what God wants them to do to their fellows.
I distrust those people who know so well what God wants them to do, because I notice it always coincides with their own desires..."
Susan B. Anthony
Good quote. Thank you.
scientists say that more than 90% of the universe is unknown, unknowable and hidden from our senses and measuring instruments. How can people argue that creation has no Creator when the smartest of minds (which I am sure are not on this page) can't even know one tenth of the creation. I would say that history proves time and time again that the nay sayers, the haters and the skeptics are always proved to be the biggest fools...no matter what their narrow beliefs or lack there of happen to be.
Because in science observations must be measured...you simply cant do that with religion...
and your argument of not being able to measure 90% of the known universe is not proof...thats why you call it faith...
...otherwise your logic is faulty
The difference between religion and science is that eventually, given enough time and technology, scientists will make many more meaningful discoveries. The "uknown" will not remain "unkown" forever. Religion, however, will never be able to discover anything new. Creationists view the universe on approximately a 6000 year timescale. Why would creationists desire to discover anything new when they believe everything meaningful has already been discovered?
You call people fools yet you can not prove there is a Creator. Like most Religious zealots, you use foul oaths and name calling to try and sell your point of view.
I didn't offer that as proof. I just said there is so much that 'we know we don't know' that it is illogical to claim that there is no Creator. Also, throughout history the skeptics are always the biggest fools...like the Europeans fighting the notion of a round world or 'Historians' fighting the HIndu assertion that humanity is at least half a million years old, or Americans assertions that the Wright brothers would never fly, or the Muslim assertion that there is one Creator who constantly provides, controls and guides the universe as a whole.
There's a big difference between admitting ignorance and claiming "God did it". There is nothing about the unknowable to suggest there's a god behind it. It simply means we don't know. Why do simple people insist on answering every scientific question with "God did it"? Most hard core christians will acknowledge that the earth revolves around the sun, that mental illness- not demons- causes people to act "crazy". But they balk at facts like Evolution By Natural Selection. Sooner or later they'll accept the facts as they are. But jeez is it frustrating in the meantime.
BTW, I have seen nothing to disprove some type of evolution, and I am not saying all atheist are fools. I am just saying that skeptics in general usually end up being the fools in the end. Whether they are closed minded religious people or closed minded non religious people. I think you should read my post a little more carefully before you say such things. bird
@AlienShark
I would like to remind you that those skeptics that fought the belief the world was round, or that the earth was not the center of the universe....was the church
@Jeff , I have made many discoveries since I came to the knowledge of Jesus is true..my very first discovery was that Jesus is real...and he provides evidence to those who believe..I had reached the critical mass point of believing and instantly he filled me wit the evidence on the inside ..this evidence is still in me it's called the Holy Ghost..The Holy Ghost is the Spirit of Jesus Christ, whose blood was shed for your sins so that you too could believe...and receive.. 🙂 🙂 🙂
I actually think that every religion (including Chinese philosophies which are technically not religions) have some portion that is correct historically and spiritually.
Read a Book. the one thing I will say for sure is that stupidity, hypocrisy and idiocy are not restricted by color or creed.
AlienShark, you mention "the Europeans fighting the notion of a round world" - that's was actually the Catholic Church, the dominate religion in Europe at the time. They not only denied that the world was round, but they actually punished those who tried to claim otherwise, and even put Galileo under permanent house arrest for his refusal to retract his theory that our round planet orbited the sun, rather than the other way around. This is an example of how science progresses and we add to our knowledge of the universe, while religion simply claims that it is all god's work and that's the end of it and we shouldn't question it.
Leaf of the Wind, please note my above comment about stupidity and hypocrisy not being restricted by color or religion.
You have to realize that there is a difference between believing in a "Creator" and believing in Religion. I have no problem with people believing that there is a God or multiple gods. The problem arises in Religion, which tells people to act in a certain way or else they won't attain something. Relgion is made up by people who wanted to explain that 90% in terms that make sense to humans.
Which scientists? Are you talking scientologists? Because they are not scientists. You just made this up. I am a scientist and your logic is not only faulty and irrational, it is not what scientists say.
Mark, I guess Canadian scientists have not heard of dark matter and dark energy...American and European scientists say it makes up at least 90% of the universe and the reason it is called 'dark' is because they cannot see it with senses or instruments and is therefore unknowable. Only that its weight helps hold galaxies together.
I hope all these groups are paying taxes.
All these groups SHOULD be paying taxes. RELIGION SHOULD BE TAXED, many other very foolish things are.
we can start taxing Christianity when Atheists are in control of the country..please consider the fact that the founders created a shield for you and for those who worship in the very first amendment..it is all that keeps mis guided religionislts from lifting your head from your shoulders,... but you are free to go to a godless country like North Korea if they will take you.... 🙂 🙂
It scares me to even here the two words together congress & jesus!
The religious believe that the faith they grew up with must be the one true faith, because that's what they were raised to believe. Conversely, they will say that all the other people who grew up with other faiths must be deluded, and only believe in other religions because that's what they were raised on. Yet few in the religious community see the irony in that viewpoint.
sounds to me your another drinking H8TERade pass it on fuel the hate and rage
your funny person i believe in nothing im not angry
I think your observation is insightful, cyberCMDR... and earl, your response is ironic. 😀
I was raised in one faith but found another or it found me..I have not set foot o worship in the religion in which I was raised..instead you can find me in Pentecostal setting where the movement of the Spirit is real and not make believe... 🙂 🙂
Earl, there was nothing in cyberCMDR's comment that was hateful, just truthful.
By the way, that refresher course in English Composition still awaits you. Nice to see you've figured out how to take caps lock off, though, so congratulations on that.
I have seen the "spirit" that pentecostals exhibit and I have to say that outside of a church, there would be serious questions regarding the mental health of said exhibitionists.
This should be illegal. Why are 'religious' organizations tax exempt when they are trying to influence policy in Washington?
Also, aren't the churches supposed to take care of the poor? We have an awful lot of POOR in this country, and I can just imagine what $390 million a year would do for them.
The charity aspect of religion is such a farce, and this proves it.
If we took that 390,000,000 and split it up into 50,000 chunks, we could give 7800 people that much money. cut that into 10,000 dollar chunks and you can give that to 39,000 people... Just 5,000? 78000 people, 1,000? 390,000 people....
funny lady 🙂 🙂 🙂
Of the 55 founding members, 49 were Protestant, 3 were Catholic, and a few were deists..
However the wrote in the first Amendment for the Freedom of Religion...Including my freedom to not to beaten over the head with your freedom...keep religion totally separate, the only fair way to go...
Then as now, many thought ist was all lies, but were afraid to speak the truth.
Jefferson in particular massively condems religion and the church.
Exactly William. many of them claimed a denomination simply because in those days it was not widely accepted not to conform.
Maybe someone should look at the makeup of the US Supreme Court ... 3- Jewish and 6 Catholics Believers. They are there because why? Maybe they are there because they are individuals who are recognized with enough wisdom to lead us?
If there are no non believers on the court ... maybe you could tell us why?
yes, 5 justices are so wise that they fabricated corporate personhood when the word corporation no where appears in the Consitution. With wisdom like this, please give me some ignorance.
Sunblur, maybe because the KKK I mean Christian Church makes sure to keep them out. They fear what would happen if people one day stopped believing in Mickey Mouse.
The same reason there have never been Atheist Presidents or Buddhist president, or any of the minor religions. The country will not vote for them and only for "Christian ish" presidents. Then those presidents will only appoint and then congress will accept only Justices who are in the same religious groups that elected congress/President. This is done to insure that the people will not vote out the president and congress.
this brings me to laugh and shame at the same time the reasons one opinons of all here have the slight to none effect on anything exept venting out . second it sounds to me like most of you'll are drinking to much H8TERade
and this is coming from a person who isnt religous
also to add to my comment is if everyone inthis room could be looked upon as critical thinking bloggers there would be none just H8TER Blog filled with none proggresive evoled civilized people just hate..
I have an intense hatred for religious folks pushing their religious ideals into government. I have an intense hatred of religious people who push candidates into office just so they can get their own personal religious agenda pushed through. I have an intense hatred of religious people who think the country was founded on christian ideals. So yes, I have drank my haterade for the day, but really...what else is there to do in a religion blog but hate on the idiots who don't believe what you do?
FRANKLY MY GOOD BUDDY Gods R Realz?
I DONT BELIEVE IN ANYTHING I THINK YOU ARE BORN THAN YOU DIE THATS IT SO IF THATS WHAT I BELIEVE YOU MUST BE THE JEW IN THIS ROOM
earl – I have to ask....shouldn't you be in school? Judging by your posts, regardless of your age, I would definitely say yes indeed. Not only do you come across as an ignorant moron, but your grammar and spelling are awful. Please do not critique other people's ability to reason and think until you have taken a good, long look at yourself.
As a liberal who has believed in God but held contempt for organized religion all I can say is it will be a blast to watch what Jesus is going to do to organized religion when he gets back.
what do you mean when he comes back? he never was here, never left, never ever
The only reason you believe in god is due to organized religion. You might want to think about that.
George, He may well have been here. How can you say He was NEVER here. As far as any miraculous events, I suppose that remains open to interpretation. Christ's message wasn't radically different from some of the fringe Jewish sects, like the Essenes, BUT it was Inclusive and Evangelical–Meaning ANYBODY WAS INVITED–Before you BASICALLY couldn't convert to Judaism, you could only be born into it. Even more, it Prostelatysed (ok, don't have time to look up the spelling). Which means they ACTIVELY went out and invited non-Jews to join. And ANYBODY meant Jews, Greeks, Romans, Francs, Bretons, and so on.
THAT was what got the message so wide spread.
Amen to that Big_D
BigD, the last time he came slumming down here amongst us common folk, he got his azz kicked. Why would he ever come back?
Get these idiot religous freaks out of MY government.
You religious nuts need to educate yourselves on the founding fathers too, I'm sick of people saying this country was based on the 10 commandments, religious ideals, or anything else religious. This country was founded on the concept of FREEDOM OF RELIGION. I propose we change that to say "Freedom FROM religion" I can't wait until the majority of people in this country wake up and stop believing in the magic sky fairy.
I concur
Sounds to me like your drinking H8TERade it gives the fuel to vent out of anger cause your mom didnt hold you to much LMFAO 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
We still seem to be struggling with that whole, thou shalt not commit murder concept. Christians have made it into a multi billion dollar industry.
LOL H8TERade Fuel the rage to go on with the hate i believe in nothing im not angry why dont you share some of that strawberry flavor H8TERade
@earl – just because you combine letters and numbers to form words does not make you cooler than the rest of us.
Yes I do hate religious ideals in politics. And yes, I do vent on the religion blogs.
Jesus buried that h8teraid to test our faith. The priests are currently searching for it in the boxers of Christian boys.
godz: "I propose we change that to say "Freedom FROM religion" I can't wait until the majority of people in this country wake up and stop believing in the magic sky fairy."
What a lover of liberty you must be. We should push for a right to freedom "from" religion. That way we can dictate how and in what way someone can practice a religion, if we allow them to practice it at all.
Then we can dictate what they can and should think, that is, until they start believing what "we" believe.
You're smart.
God Help All those who don't believe in Him and His Holy Word-the Bible. I pray in Jesus Name that your blinded eyes will be open to Him & The Truth. He is Real for His spirit abides in me. Love to you all in His Holy Name!!!
Thank you, brother...all should be touched by His noodly appendage. http://www.venganza.org/
God help you who tries to impose your belief system on unwilling recipients. God help you to understand that many people do not share your views, and never will share your views. God help you to understand that our country cannot be ran with your religious ideals. God help you understand that you probably guessed the wrong religion, but guess what...that doesn't matter either because you will ultimately disintegrate into a pile of dust, but guess what? God isn't going to suck your soul up to heaven like you believe he will.
Why Do Religious People use so Many Capitals?
Calvin
Just remind Jesus if he comes into my neighborhood, I shall crucify him again.
And this time the fourth nail goes right between the eyes.
@DrD: it is to make us think they are more powerful.
May the mighty Zeus strike you with a lightning bolt.
@Gods R Realz?
THAT MAKES YOU A PREMATURE H8TER. DRINK SOME MORE VENT IT ALL OUT SO YOU CAN WAKE UP TO YOUR FUTILE EXSISTANCE IN SPECK OF DUST IN THE COSMOS SO YOU CAN HATE SOME MORE EVERYDAY
@all you realize it is religious freedom that allows you not to belong to a national religion. The religious lobbyist agree and thats why they fight for it. Also the vast majority of religious people in this country do pay taxes so why should our opinons be lobbied for any less than yours.
ed in all your comment actually made some darn sense in this room
Haha.. and this is in the country that touts "separation between church and state" and plays the "secular" card on the world politics stage.. Hypocrisy, much?
It is the great secular nation which "questions the Christianity of their president" and "question the Mormon's capability to lead"... LMAO..
When you say "nation" you're really saying "Republican Party". Republicans wholeheartedly live, breath, think and vote Christian. But yes. Our country was founded on the principle that effective fair governance can only come without a control by any church.
Big business, however, now that's the church of Capitalism and that's a different story altogether.