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Senator Ted Cruz and Pastor Franklin Graham ... church tax-exempt status is a "Federal Contract" ... all VOLUNTARY

No, a Tax Exempt status for a Church is a natural right under the Constitution. As the Constitution guarantees the free exercise of Religion, and the power to tax is the power to destroy, Religious institutions are naturally exempt from taxes as a condition of their guarantees under the Constitution.

A contract or agreement with regard to incorporation of a religious institution that interferes with a religious institution's right to free exercise of religion is void as being an unconstitutional infringement on the First Amendment.

I for one will not surrender to the argument that simply because a Church is granted tax exempt status that it gives up the right to express doctrines that are either against the political winds or the politically correct winds.

Churches have an inherent right to advocate not only for political positions consistent with their doctrinal beliefs, but also to advocate for candidates who share those beliefs and to advocate against candidates who don't.

Labor Unions do not lose their status for such advocacy, but Churches seem to have surrendered on this issue. They need to fight to restore it.

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Ok ... I'm not trying to be argumentative ... but ...

show me the text in the U.S. Constitution that "religious charitable corporations" (THE KEY, by the way) ...

cannot be taxed.

Maybe that's the confusion that some Free Republic Christians have about this issue.

The word "Corporation" is the KEY.

P-Marlow and Saved-by-Grace ... if we three decide to start a church (christian fellowship) and meet in our homes ...

and we never ask the IRS to use our gifts/tithes/offerings as deductions on our annual U.S. Federal Income Tax returns ...

THEN ... our "church" has complete political freedom ... and we can say, write, preach about ANYTHING we want.

Just like Jesus Christ did.

Unfortunately, 99-percent of American churches are legally classified as "charitable religious corporations".

That "corporate tatoo" is necessary if a church wants fire insurance for it's "church building" ... etc ...

However, if that "charitable religious corpration" wants to ALLOW its members to use their gifts/tithes/offerings as DEDUCTIONS on their annual U.S. Federal Tax Returns ...

then that "church" comes under the AUTHORITY of IRS 501-C3.

It's that's simple.

Remember the Jewish Scribes and Pharisees (in the time of Christ) that were TERRIFIED of offending Ceasar (Rome) ?

Why were they TERRIFIED of Rome ?

Money - Money - Money.

After all, ROME paid for the magnificent Temple in Jerusalem.

Do you think that Ceasar re-built the Jewish Temple just because he was "nice guy" ?

Hardly.

It was a "quid pro quo" arrangement (just like IRS 501-C3).

The Jewish people (Scribes and Pharisees) got a FREE Temple ...

Ceasar got (demanded) "obdeience".

Just like Uncle Sam demands "obedience" from all those tax-exempt Christian "religious charitable corporations" (churches).

Oh ... by the way ... when the Jewish Scribes and Pharisees finally demanded a free voice ... freedom ...

Ceasar burned Jerusalem, and the magnificent Temple (that Ceasar had paid for), and entire city ... to the ground in 70 AD.

Freedom comes as a "price", including, when you're a "Christian Church" ...

of paying your FULL TAXES demanded by Rome or Uncle Sam.

Jesus Christ CLEARLY understood this.

That why Jesus Christ COMMANDED Christians to "Render Unto Caesar !

Watch the YouTube video(s) .... and then pray hard.

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As the Constitution guarantees the free exercise of Religion, and the power to tax is the power to destroy, Religious institutions are naturally exempt from taxes as a condition of their guarantees under the Constitution.

That is 100% on the mark.

If a religion has 100% of its free exercise money, and any government entity attempts to take any X of its free exercise money, then it afterwards has only 100-X of its free exercise money left. Therefore, government has not permitted free exercise as dictated by the constitution; it has entangled itself and has permitted only 100-X free exercise.

So far as the government 'granting' corporate status, any religion naturally has 'corporate' status. It already is a natural 'body' focused on a particular objective. Government has only ACKNOWLEDGED, and not 'granted', an already existing corporate status. (It is no accident that a church is referred to as 'the body of Christ'.) Whether assemply, body, synagogue (closely related to assembly), coven, etc., religions are gatherings of participants for the most part. I'm sure there are some entirely individualistic religions, but I can't think of any at the moment.

So, this real corporateness is assumed in 'free exercise' as well. Therefore, the government did not grant corporate status, it acknowledged an already existing corporateness. The church did not sign onto government corporateness when it processed corporate paperwork; it merely assisted with legal clarification that which already existed.

And, just to be honest, and I'm no businessman, lawyer, or corporate executive, I'm betting that there are places in law wherein the government has acknowledged a natural corporateness of other clubs/gatherings/assemblies and held that that natural corporateness did not allow individuals to be held individually liable for corporate issues.