In The Freedom to Resist (June 12, 2000), Stephen L. Carter argues that black inner city churches should be permitted to do political organizing without losing their tax-exempt status, since they are the only effective institutions of civil society in the inner city. I agree, but to avoid favoritism, let's treat ALL religious organizations this way, since religion and politics are inherently interrelated. Also, this would recognize Carter's point that religion is a genuine source of resistance to power (and always has been) and restrain the state from attempting to coopt or subvert that resistance using taxation.
He feels that U.S. law unfairly favors mainstream over minority religious expression, citing as an example the 1988 Lyng case, in which the Supreme Court allowed that the Forest Service could cut down one of its forests, even though it contained an area consider sacred by local Indians. Instead of granting minority religious groups special protection (more unAmerican favoritism), why can't this be resolved, along with many other similar cases and in a consistent manner for ALL groups, as a straightforward property rights matter. The Indian organization in question should seek to gain ownership of the property in question, either through outright purchase from the government or by a trade for other land holdings.
I agree that the separation of church and state was meant primarily to protect the church, not the state and appreciated the Roger Williams "garden in the wilderness" insight.
Carter characterizes the liberal position as calling for sacrifice to help our fellow man and clearly favors this position. Although I admire voluntary sacrifice, once the state gets involved, it looks less like charity and more like tyranny.
Similarly, he misrepresents the conservative position as merely telling the disadvantaged to change their behavior and criticizes that as being too limited. The conservative position goes far beyond this strawman characterization, including for instance the notion that the excessive and constitutionally unauthorized use of government power, even (or especially) when done in the name of the weak, often causes the most harm to those it is ostensibly trying to help.
Steve Sawyer