Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search

July 25, 2008 9:51:37 PM CDT

Learn about Newser Points »

« Back to the grid | Next story »

Senator Attacks Free-Spending Megachurches

Posted Dec 5, 07 3:34 PM CST in Arts & Living,  Politics 

(Newser) – Sen. Charles Grassley thinks big-spending pastors of so-called “megachurches” might be abusing their tax-exempt status, NPR reports. Ministers in these stadium-sized churches preach a gospel of wealth, and practice what they preach—driving Rolls Royces, flying in private jets, living in mansions. “Maybe that's not illegal,” the Iowa Republican says, “but it may raise questions about whether it's the right expenditure of money.”

Grassley thinks some of those perks are taxable benefits. He also questions the pastor’s exorbitant salaries, and so-called “love offerings”—cash payments directly to ministers. So far he’s sent inquiry letters to six ministries. One target, Bishop Eddie Long, accused Grassley of attacking religious freedom. But Grassley’s not questioning church doctrine. “My business is the enforcement of tax laws,” he says.

Source NPR

0 comments | Print E-mail | Digg Seed this on Newsvine Add this link to Del.icio.us StumbleUpon

Related Newser Stories

  • In Shift, Clergy Gives More Dollars to Dems

    Dec 22, 07 2:05 PM CST
    In Shift, Clergy Gives More Dollars to Dems In a shift from 2004, Republican presidential and congressional hopefuls are losing clergy support as measured by campaign donations, Politico reports. According to FEC data, clergy and religious groups have given Dem candidates $367,000 but the GOP just $288,000. Of the Dem haul, Barack Obama leads with $107,350 to Hillary Clinton's $89,910. More »

  • Thompson Losing Evangelicals

    Sep 27, 07 12:31 PM CDT
    Thompson Losing Evangelicals Fred Thompson, once the longed-for alternative to a field of uninspiring GOP candidates, didn't get through his campaign's first official month before the religious right started jumping ship, Politico reports. Thompson's refusal to back a gay marriage ban, past lobbying for an abortion-rights group, and refusal to talk religion has conservatives scrambling to find a different candidate to stop frontrunner Rudy Giuliani's nomination. More »

  • ACLU's Alter Ego Invites God Into Courtroom

    Sep 5, 07 6:06 PM CDT
    ACLU's Alter Ego Invites God Into Courtroom A legal center that champions the Christian right is scoring victories and becoming “a very, very significant player in constitutional law,” one analyst says. The American Center for Law and Justice has made waves in the legal world by defending prayer at high school football games and supporting a pharmacist who doesn’t want to sell the morning-after pill, the Chicago Tribune reports. More »

  • Falwell's Death Ends an Era

    May 16, 07 9:08 AM CDT
    It's impossible to grasp the profound change in American political life in the last quarter-century without understanding Jerry Falwell and the movement he fostered, writes Newsweek's Howard Fineman. Falwell, who died yesterday, created the Moral Majority, helped launch the Reagan Revolution, and dug the evangelical foundations—currently shifting—on which the modern Republican establishment stands. More »

  • Televangelist Falwell Dead at 73

    May 15, 07 1:09 PM CDT
    Televangelist Falwell Dead at 73 The Rev. Jerry Falwell, who founded the Moral Majority and mixed evangelism with conservative social criticism, died today after collapsing in his office at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va. He was 73. A lightning rod for controversy, Falwell once called AIDS "the wrath of a just God against homosexuals" and claimed that God is a Republican. More »

In a file photo Bishop Eddie Long, of the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, in Lithonia, Ga. gestures during an interview Jan. 18, 2007. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, top Republican on the Senate Finance...   (Associated Press)
In a file photo evangelist Benny Hinn, raises his hands in prayer during a service at the Blaisdell Concert Hall in Honolulu, Hawaii, Jan. 11, 2002. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Ia., top Republican on the...   (Associated Press)
Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, speaks at the Iowa State Republican Party Convention in Des Moines in this June 17, 2006, file photo. Grassley is investigating possible financial wrongdoing by six televangelists,...   (Associated Press)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
Our editors also recommend:

Threads (1 of 3)

Tags

Senate  • religion  • religious right  • megachurches  • Charles Grassley


Loading...

Loading...

Today's Most Popular


Other Politics Stories

What is Newser?

2008 Codie Finalist

Newser gives you more news in less time. We search for the best and most important stories all over the web, read them for you, and deliver concise and sharp summaries—along with links to the full text. Newser provides a way to stay on top of an ever-expanding horizon of news and opinion—politics, sports, business, trends, technology, personalities, crimes, and controversies. Newser keeps you not just better informed, but, with our signature graphic interface and smart condensed format, more enjoyably informed.

Learn more »