Mormon Church’s human rights complaint rejected by European judges

Telegraph ^ | March 4, 2014 | Hayley Dixon

[greyfoxx39]

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, a religious organisation registered as a private unlimited company in the UK, was told in 2005 that it was not exempt from paying business tax on its temple in Preston, Lancashire.

Because the public were not allowed access to the temple, which was reserved for the most devout Mormons, the High Court dismissed their appeal in July 2008.

However, the church refused to accept the decision, claiming that it amounted to discrimination on religious grounds and taking their battle all the way to Strasbourg.

Now the European Court of Human Rights has upheld the ruling of the British courts.

-SNIP-

Only the most devout members of the church, who hold a "recommend" status, are entitled to enter the temples.

The House of Lords ruled that the Preston temple was not qualified as a "place of public religious worship" since access was restricted to this select group.

[1010RD]

So you accept the secular authority’s definition of “charity”?

Do you know the Biblical definition of “Charity”?

Here’s the UK’s definition:

The 13 descriptions of purposes listed in the Charities Act are:

(a) the prevention or relief of poverty

(b)the advancement of education

(c) the advancement of religion

(d) the advancement of health or the saving of lives

(e) the advancement of citizenship or community development

(f) the advancement of the arts, culture, heritage or science

(g) the advancement of amateur sport

(h) the advancement of human rights, conflict resolution or reconciliation or the promotion of religious or racial harmony or equality and diversity

(i) the advancement of environmental protection or improvement

(j) the relief of those in need, by reason of youth, age, ill-health, disability, financial hardship or other disadvantage

(k) the advancement of animal welfare

(l) the promotion of the efficiency of the armed forces of the Crown, or of the efficiency of the police, fire and rescue services or ambulance services

(m) any other purposes currently recognised as charitable or which can be recognised as charitable by analogy to, or within the spirit of, purposes falling within (a) to (l) or any other purpose recognised as charitable under the law of England and Wales

The Charities Act does not define what each of these descriptions of purposes mean. However, it does provide some definitions, or partial definitions, for some of the descriptions. These are set out in Annex D.

https://www.charitycommission.gov.uk/detailed-guidance/registering-a-charity/what-makes-a-charity-cc4/part-3-about-the-descriptions-of-purposes/

Here’s the relevant portion of Annex D:

Annex D: Definitions in the Charities Act

Part 1

Meaning of “charity” and “charitable purpose”

CHAPTER 1

General

3 (1)

(m) any other purposes -

(i) that are not within paragraphs (a) to (l) but are recognised as charitable purposes by virtue of section 5 (recreational and similar trusts, etc.) or under the old law,

(ii) that may reasonably be regarded as analogous to, or within the spirit of, any purposes falling within any of paragraphs (a) to (l) or sub-paragraph (i), or

(iii) that may reasonably be regarded as analogous to, or within the spirit of, any purposes which have been recognised, under the law relating to charities in England and Wales, as falling within sub-paragraph (ii) or this sub-paragraph.

3 (2)In subsection (1) -

(a) in paragraph (c), “religion” includes -

(i) a religion which involves belief in more than one god, and

(ii) a religion which does not involve belief in a god,

Found here: https://www.charitycommission.gov.uk/detailed-guidance/registering-a-charity/what-makes-a-charity-cc4/annex-d-definitions-in-the-charities-act/

This fight is the smoke from a far off fire. Once it’s burning on your doorstep it will be too late. Religious liberty is to everyone’s benefit, even atheists... and Mormons.

[Morgana]

“but now they are being questioned about those seven years..”

What exactly are they being questioned about? How they got the money? Where the money went? What?

[Tennessee Nana]

I spent years as a Baptist in Utah and saw no one converted thru arguments such as ‘the mormon church has too much money’...
___________________________________

and yet in the 1980s the Mormons went to the doors of Christians with the argument that because they (the Mormons) had too much money and more money than any Christian church the Christians must convert to Mormonism..

they came to my door several times with that “gospel”

so it must have worked somewhere or the Mormons would not have spent millions on that kind of PR..

they are supposed to be wildly successful businessmen after all..

[Tennessee Nana]

read some of the posts here or do some research for yourself..

the charge is criminal financial fraud...

and Thomas S Monson must appear in court to answer on March 14..

[Sherman Logan]

I have no problem with the UK deciding not to allow tax exemption for the temple. Not a decision I’d make, but it’s their country.

But it is VERY disturbing to see the doctrines of a Church held up for judicial review based on scientific evidence.

Is there any religion in the world that could withstand equivalent criticism? Do we really want government agencies or courts making such decisions? Should any human agency be given such power?

All religions are silly to outsiders. Mormons are among the leaders in silliness, IMO, but that is of course exactly the point. If silly religions can be proclaimed to not be “really” religions, then so can any other.

As in the principle that offensive speech must be left free, or all other speech freedom is imperiled. Same principle applies to religion.

I find it really hard to believe that American conservatives would disagree, but apparently some do.

BTW, I don’t make fun of other’s religious beliefs, no matter how silly IMO they are. This is out of what I consider common courtesy, not to the belief, but to the believer.

[Tennessee Nana]

theres only 7 for tax breaks and the Mormons business apply 2 of them for theirs

1) religion; and

2) relief of poverty

The Mormons definitely use number 2 fraudulently

[Morgana]

“and yet in the 1980s the Mormons went to the doors of Christians with the argument that because they (the Mormons) had too much money and more money than any Christian church the Christians must convert to Mormonism..”

I seriously want proof of this. That makes them sound like “Don Corleone” was coming to your front door as Mormon Missionaries.

[Tennessee Nana]

I just told you..

it happened to me more than once..

[greyfoxx39]

Anybody care to apply an equivalent secular, supposedly scientific yardstick to various orthodox Christian doctrines: immortality of the soul, resurrection of the body, the Trinity, the Virgin Birth of Christ, even the existence of God?

This "yardstick" would NOT be welcome on FR.

"The sign on the door says Free Republic is a God, Country, Family, Life & Liberty site. And we seek to attract like-minded individuals. Those who campaign against us on our deeply-held traditional Christian conservative views are not like-minded and therefore not welcome.

“God” referring to the one true Judeo-Christian God of the bible.

You are not my enemy. But those who wish to preach some other gospel other than the true Word of God as recorded in the KJV Christian bible will not be allowed to do so UNCHALLENGED on FR. I will not forbid our Christian members from challenging the words of Joseph Smith & Co.

Thus no LDS caucus protection. That’s just the way it is. Take it or leave it."

146 posted on Tuesday, December 27, 2011 10:49:34 AMby Jim Robinson(Rebellion is brewing!! Impeach the corrupt Marxist bastard!!)

Link

[Tennessee Nana]

That makes them sound like “Don Corleone” was coming to your front door as Mormon Missionaries.
__________________________________________

Don Corleone was a gentlemen compared to the way the Mormons spoke to me..

[Tennessee Nana]

That makes them sound like “Don Corleone” was coming to your front door as Mormon Missionaries.
__________________________________________

and like the mafia, the Mormons are in the protection racket..

“Pay us 10% of your income and assets and we will let you into our afterlife..

don’t pay us and we will make your life a living Hell”

[Tennessee Nana]

Where the money went?
_____________________________________

we know what the Mormons did with their money..

land, cattle ranches, more land, beach resorts, more land, malls, more land, insurance companies, more land and so on..

$500 BILLION worth and counting so far..

those are not charities...

the for profit farms the Mormons owned in England were finally taxed a few years ago...

the Mormons tried pulling this same stunt..”OOOO we are so religiously persecuted”

the English don’t put up with their Al Capone crimes..

[Morgana]

Did this happen in Utah or ? Because your name implies that you live in Tennessee.

[Morgana]

The reason I asked if it happened in Utah is because I was told that mormons in Utah are not as kind to outsiders as Mormons outside of the state.

[Tennessee Nana]

No I was living in South Carolina in the years the Mormons were using their huge assets as a marketing feature..

the sales pitch went something like

Mormon sales person: “which church do you go to?”

Christian “Baptist, Methodist, Church of God”

Mormon (Pulling out the sheet pertaining to that Christian church or pointing to the particular line) “well as you can see here your SBC only took in half of x amount of dollars last year. where as our Mormon Inc took in SSSXXX MILLION (pulls out the figures for the Mormn Inc and shows me) so that proves that go favors us and not you and that proves that we are the church that jesus built and not yours”

and so it went..

well the first time I heard this I really thought it was a joke..

How did I know they were serious ???

I didn’t think they could be serious but they were and that first time I almost made one of those nice neighbor Mormons cry I must have laughed so hard..

I was used to the weird antics of the Mormons and I knew their obsession with their money gods but this one kinda took the cake..

The Mormns came to my house 2 times a month..short of shoot them I couldn’t get rid of them ...I lived in a nice neighborhood and had a nice house and knew most of the names of my very real ancestors they were coveting like crazy

few times did they fail to invite me to come and get proxy dead dunked for my ancestors

“But Im not a Mormon and have no intention of ever being one”

“Oh you don’t have to since they are your ancestors”

or

“What you don’t love your ancestors enough to help them get dead dunked ?”

I never invited them in the first place and I couldn’t sweep off my front porch for Mormons on my mat..

BTW that “We have the most money so we KNOW hat jesus loves only wez” went on for a couple of years as I recalled..

only during the 1980s did I see how much the Mormons had taken in WORLD WIDE the year before....since then the Mormons don’t show their accounts even to their own members..

and then there was the “well if you don’t want to be a Mormon you can be still go to our afterlife as a slave. You are so nice and I like you (said condescendingly) You can be my slave “

Now there was one drawback to this when the Mormon female told me this ...I had been approached by the once-a=month JWs just a few days before..

The JW female said that she had asked her JW prophet if she could have me for a slave in the JW afterlife because I was worthy enough to be a slave and she had been given permission OH JOY!!!

so I was off the hook with the Mormon female who was using the same sales pitch gift..divine slavedom..

“Oh” says I to the cheerful Mormon “I cant be your slave. Im already spoken for. I just got claimed by the JW last week”

Now it gets spooky if Mormonism wasn’t already quite spooky enough thank you..

The Mormon female suggests I tell the JW that I would prefer to be a slave in the Mormon afterlife..

I said I couldn’t do that..

The Mormon female begs me to tell the JW that I don’t want to be with them..

I said “well she got permission from her JW prophet ..”

The Mormon female looked like she was gong to cry..

and this from an intelligent smart woman..

[svcw]

Bigot?
This is actually going on, so do think th UK is bigoted or only the people who comment?

[svcw]

It’s not Biblical. The curtain was torn from top to bottom at the crucifixion, to open the temples - no more secrets.

[svcw]

Your church does not welcome everyone?
Wow, my church has a sign over the door “no perfect people allowed”.

[svcw]

So how do you pass judgement that someone is “worthy” to partake?
Is there a form to fill out?
You pay a fee?
How is that determined by your church?

[wonkowasright]

The law expressly grants for “public” worship. The temple is demonstrably not public.

Even in the USA there is no constitutional exemption to taxation for churches, its rather a custom from commonlaw expressed in legislation.