Monday, March 8, 2010
C Street Curch?
Both the New York Times and NPR had stories last week about the controversial C Street Center townhouse, pictured to the left. The townhouse is located in Washington D.C. approximately three blocks from the Capitol and is host to a contingent of fundamentalist Christian members of Congress. It is affiliated with the Fellowship and provides a place for Congressmen to live and pray together for a minimal fee of $600 per month for a private room. You may remember the Fellowship from their heavy involvement in the National Prayer Breakfast, an event which every president since Dwight Eisenhower has attended. The C Street Center hosts several functions that are smaller than the National Prayer Breakfast, but serve largely the same purpose. These include Wednesday prayer breakfasts for United States Senators and Tuesday night dinners for Members of Congress and other Fellowship associates.
The C Street Center was granted tax exempt status as a church under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, which states that “corporations organized and operated exclusively for religious, charitable or educational purposes” are entitled to tax exemption. Tax exempt status remained formally unchallenged until last year, when several C Street tenants were embroiled in marital infidelity scandals that focused a public eye on the Center. As a result, the Office of Tax and Revenue for Washington D.C. determined that portions of the townhouse were being rented out for private residential purposes and the exemption was partially revoked so that only 34% is now tax exempt.
Two weeks ago, a group of Ohio pastors filed a complaint about the partial tax exemption of the C Street Center. The pastors are concerned that the Center is not a church and that by masquerading as a church, the Center “poses a threat to the integrity and legitimacy of all religious organizations in the United States.” In an interview with NPR, Pastor Eric Williams, a leader of the Ohio ministers, stated, “Is there public worship? Is it open to the public? Are there trained leaders who serve the church? C Street really has none of those marks that make it a church."
This case raises constitutional issues similar to those raised by Bob Jones University versus United States in 1982. The IRS revoked Section 501(c)(3) tax exempt status of Bob Jones University, a private Christian University, because it denied admission to students involved in interracial relationships. Bob Jones University challenged in court, holding that the IRS violated the University’s rights under the religion Clauses of the First Amendment. The Supreme Court ruled that the IRS had the right to revoke the tax exempt status of organizations that are contrary to established public policy.
The C Street Center case is slightly more complicated because the pastors are concerned with separation of church and state, not freedom of conscience. The Ohio pastors believe, and I agree, that the Fellowship is using the C Street Center to influence Congressmen and other public officials. If the IRS revokes Section 501(c)(3) tax exempt status, the C Street Center will have to file tax returns that reveal its sources of income. This will make it possible to determine whether private money from the Fellowship is being filtered into the Center. If the IRS investigation is brought to court, the C Street Center could argue freedom of conscience by claiming that the townhouse is actually a place of worship for its residents. This argument puts the state in the sticky position of defining religion, which can lead to excessive entanglement. Clearly, the C Street Center tax exemption raises a lot of constitutional issues.
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