apep wrote on Jul 13
th, 2014 at 3:02pm:
Odd, the only relevant
US section on taxes that I find for religious institutions lists scientific institutions right beside it. Care to point out the special care that religious institutions are getting over scientific ones?
Ha! This argument
Nothing odd about it, you're looking at a general list of tax exempt "public services". For the purposes of categorizing them, science and religion fit under the same broad umbrella of "charitable organizations". However, there are some very significant differences in how they are treated in the real world.
Here's a source that gives you a better breakdown:
Religion:
1. To qualify as a religious organization, an organization must have (and practice) sincerely held religious beliefs.
Well, that's nice. Pretty subjective don't you think?
2. Churches do not have to apply for tax exemption (though some find it advantageous to do so), receive special protection from IRS audits, are presumed not to be private foundations, and generally receive special treatment under state law.
Scientific Research:
1. Research will be considered carried on in the public interest if: (1) research results (including any resulting patents, copyrights, processes, or formulae) are made available to the public on a nondiscriminatory basis;
Here we have an emphasis on results, which can make or break your funding. If you are having a hard time generating results, you have nothing to write down on your grant applications, and generally speaking, you get shut down. Why aren't churches subject to some kind of objective standard? Oh right, its religion we're talking about...
Source:
http://www.morganlewis.com/pubs/tax%20exempt%20and%20charitable%20organizations....Also, you ignored the point about NASA's budget cuts.