So you want to tax the rich? OK, let's start with Harvard

Re:So you want to tax the rich? OK, let's start with Harvard by danaris on Wednesday April 28, 2021 @10:34AM (#26969827)

My understanding of the Establishment Clause is that its primary purpose, which is not obvious for a modern reader, was to prevent the government from "establishing" a state religion. [0]

So that means that the government is forbidden from making laws that favor a particular religion over others, not from making any laws that constrain or affect religious groups and institutions.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Establishment_Clause, from which, "The Establishment Clause is a limitation placed upon the United States Congress preventing it from passing legislation forcing an establishment of religion, broadly making it illegal for the government to promote theocracy or promote a specific religion with taxes."

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Re:So you want to tax the rich? OK, let's start with Harvard by Turing_Machine on Wednesday April 28, 2021 @02:02PM (#26972214)

You are correct. England has an established church, as does Scotland (but not the same one as England, interestingly). Wales used to have an established church, but it was "disestablished" in 1920. Other European countries have established churches as well.

Often this means that not only are they the official church, but that tax money is actually used to support them -- even tax money from people who don't belong to that church.

The Founders did not like paying taxes to churches they didn't belong to, and who can blame them for that?

Also interestingly, at the time the Constitution was enacted, some of the states did have established churches. The Constitution didn't do anything about that, as it only affected the Federal government.

The First Amendment has since been "incorporated" (by means of the Fourteenth Amendment) in such a way that states are also prohibited from establishing churches nowadays.

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