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PaperclipPerfector  1d ago (text post)   917 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for August 10, 2025

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

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Why do so many people think it's trivially easy for a "new religion" (as opposed to a new church/temple/whatever you want to call it within an existing and well-established denomination) to get tax-exempt status in the US? Because I keep encountering people blithely asserting this, despite it being my understanding that the IRS treats every "new religion" as nothing but an attempted tax-evasion scheme unless and until conclusively proven otherwise.

Why do so many people think it's trivially easy for a "new religion" (as opposed to a new church/temple/whatever you want to call it within an existing and well-established denomination) to get tax-exempt status in the US?

Most people have zero understanding of the law in general. You can adjust "most people" to "almost 100% of people" if you're discussing a particularly fine point.

Probably confusion between the two categories? And it's legitimately difficult to draw the line- various different kinds of nondenoms and baptists are basically a ring species.

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