Do you think churches should be stripped of their private assets?
966287
I think that religion should be held accountable the same way any business is. They have to prove they can deliver the product they are selling and if they can't, they should be exposed as a fraud. All I expect is proof that the ever-lasting life they push, is real and that as a subcontractor they have an obligation to prove that the supplier really exists. Short of that, their assets should be seized, sold and the resulting funds distributed to the poor rubes they victimized.
662520
yes, whatever two consenting adults do in their home is their own business. It is NOT anyones business, not the government and certainly not the churchs business
186148
Absolutely not! Government funds are not to be allocated to religious organizations. The founding fathers of the United States of America would be turning in their grave. When religous groups want to start taking advantage of federal fund and programs, then those same groups can start paying taxes.
193947
There is, actually, a law of war against unnecessarily destroying religious or historic  sites. they are not to be destroyed, unless the enemy is using them to his advantage, such as by hiding in them.  Of coarse, the laws of war are only as good as the people who enforce them.
844999
religion is for the needy, the scare mongers, governments, the vatican and the terrorsists.\nif you got rid of that lot there would be no trouble.
84332
People will say no, but I defy you to find anywhere in the Constitution that separates church and state.  The constitution gives you FREEDOM of religion instead of where they came from (England) where the government ran the Church of England.  They did not want that situation, so they said in the Constitution that the government won't set up a church.\n\nI am a teacher, and I talk about religion whenever it is part of my lesson.  I cannot teach about Bach, the most important composer in regards to our system of harmony, without talking about his church work.
1056231
My initial reaction is that they should receive the harshest punishment allowable because of what they defaced.  But they'll have to face God someday for that act anyway and deal with the consequences then.  So I guess in the here and now, they should be treated the same as anyone else who who would deface any piece of public or private property.
1033287
church is credited.it made it morally acceptable to continue their business of religion
137117
Within reason they should be able to follow the "laws" of their religion. less so, things which may just be custom. Certainly, a limit needs to be placed on anything which would place an undue tax burden on the taxpayer or create an unsafe situation. In the cases , where money is the issue, a religious charity organization could be appealed to.
1028419
No. It is morally wrong to financially rape a grieving relative by over-charging for funeral services.\nCremation is sanitary, environmentally responsible, much, much cheaper, and if it's wrong morally, as you asked, what about all the saints who were burned at the stake by the Catholic church during the Inquisition because they disagreed with some of their doctrines? \nI think it's a great idea!
290147
It is my belief that the concept of "Division of Church and State" has been incorrectly interpreted and applied for many years. The founding fathers intended this separation to prevent things like a church being a branch of government (like the Supreme Court) which would have a final verdict on any law.
1081094
b/c some churchs(and their ministers) are selfish and hoard their money.
1142748
I honestly think it is a financial issue.  I think the problem with organized religion is the organization itself and the fact that it requires money to maintain.  Once you have a mortgage and mouths to feed, you have to focus on fundraising - and that means building and keeping a congregation.\n\nI think many feel that to do that, you need to prove to the faithful that your version of the Universal Truth is the correct one and the others are false.  The worse you can make the punishment also seems to help to keep people in line and making their weekly donations.  I think it is a shame, but a harsh reality of our capitalistic society.\n\nCouple that with the histories of bloody intolerance on all sides (the Roman pagans fed the Christians to the lions, the Christians invaded and murdered the Celtic Pagans, etc.).  No one side is at fault - with the aggressive nature of humans, this is a natural consequence of growth and the development of our warrior nature.\n\nThere is a way to rise above it, though.  I think that if we look at the religions of the world, we can see commonalities, similarities - a basis in love, truth and good will.  If we could focus our attention more on the similarities and let the donation chips fall where they may, we could come out of this as 1 planet ,1 people, infinite diversity for maximum prosperity for all.
188814
stold money from a church
231143
AMEN! Can you imagine the good that could be done with all the money wasted on real estate, maintenance, utilities, buildings, etc. all in the name of Church.  What if we gave up all the buildings and met in smaller groups like in Acts 2.3 and 4?  What if we used all the money that saved and help the poor, the orphans, widows and perform the ministry of Jesus?  Wow, what a concept!
345496
They are more important to the tax collector, however churches are very important because they give society a connection to something that is more important than just the day to day wants and desires.  Life is more important than just what you own, or what movie you saw last, or the last party you went to.
345915
No, but I think religion should be a personal practice and have NOTHING to do with the government at all. Until that happens, yes it should be repressed from all governmental function.