I’ve never understood why tax-exempt status could be used as a threat to the believers. The Lord says “Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s ...”. It doesn’t compromise us if we pay taxes to an evil king. Give up the tax-exempt status and be done with it.
It’s a First Amendment issue. The Supreme Court has long said the government power to tax is the power to destroy. So what happens when government takes the next step, which is to say churches who do not do same-sex “marriages” must pay a “penalty tax,” like what has now been legalized for Obamacare?