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New Zealand Will Penalize Excessive Political Activity By Churches
As reported today in the Dominion Post, New Zealand's new "Charities Act of 2005" will grant the country's "Charities Commission" permission to investigate churches (and other tax-exempt organizations) to decide if the organization "is deemed to be acting more with political intent than for a charitable purpose." While the advancement of religion is recognized as a charitable purpose, under these new rules, any church that engaged in heavy political advocacy could have its tax exempt status questioned.
This is yet another example of a troubling international and domestic trend restricting religious thought and expression from the pulpit. This law, in effect, gives the New Zealand government the right to pick and choose which charities it approves of and which seem to rock the boat a little too hard. Read the entire article.