Thread by @propublica

A right-wing think tank is now a church in the eyes of the IRS. It’s part of a growing movement of activist groups that are seeking church status.

And it’s all perfectly legal. Here’s how 👇

The Family Research Council, or FRC, is an evangelical activist group that opposes:
-abortion
-stem-cell research
-gender affirming care
-LGBTQ rights

And now that the IRS has blessed it as an “association of churches,” the FRC can better shield itself from financial scrutiny.

As a church, the FRC is no longer required to file a public tax return (Form 990).

These documents reveal key staffer salaries, the names of board members, large payments to independent contractors and grants made by the organization.

And unlike with other charities, IRS investigators *can’t audit a church* unless a high-level Treasury Department official has approved the investigation.

What makes something *technically* a church?

According to the IRS, there are 14 characteristics commonly associated with churches.

The FRC claimed to fulfill 11 of these criteria, saying that it has an array of “partner churches” with a shared mission, which is:

“To hold all life as sacred, to see families flourish, and to promote religious freedom.”

The FRC claims there are nearly 40,000 churches in its association, made up of different creeds and beliefs.

Does the FRC’s website list these 40k partners or mention the word “church” anywhere on its home page? No.

The FRC did not provide the names of those partners to ProPublica, and they aren’t on its application either.

Does the organization perform baptisms, weddings and funerals? Yes, they say, but they leave those duties to partner churches.

Does it have schools for religious instruction of the young? Same answer. That, too, is the job of the partner churches.

The FRC says it doesn’t have “members” but a congregation made up of its board of directors, employees, supporters and those partner churches. Some of those partner churches, it says, do have members.

Does the FRC hold regular chapel services? According to its letter to the IRS, the answer is yes. It wrote that it holds services at its office building averaging more than 65 people.

But when a ProPublica reporter called about service times, a staffer who answered the phone responded, “We don’t have church service.”

Some oppose these designations.

“The FRC can say whatever bullshit things they want to … The IRS should recognize it as a bad argument.”

— Frederick Clarkson, senior research analyst at Political Research Associates.

The IRS did not answer a list of detailed questions for this story or make anyone available for an interview.

The IRS also did not answer questions about how many groups apply to become a church and how many applications it denies.

The FRC declined to make officials available for an interview and to answer any questions for this story.

Read the full investigation here: propublica.org/article/family…

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