My problem is the lack of transparency with how donations are handled. Many churches primary source of income is donations, which they turn around and spend on private jets, lavish clergy salaries, or even for-profit endeavors like giant shopping malls.
Because churhces are exempt from all the transparency required of normal nonprofits, they can easily mislead their congregations about how that donated money is spent.
If someone decides to switch churches because they found out that most of the money they donated was not actually going towards charitable causes, that would be an absolute win in my book.
> Many churches primary source of income is donations, which they turn around and spend on private jets, lavish clergy salaries, or even for-profit endeavors like giant shopping malls
You're describing maybe a dozen or less mega-churches - not the thousands and thousands of typical churches.
I personally don't really care how donations are handled, as they should mostly be after tax dollars. I care quite a lot about the tax sheltered growth and the avoidance of property tax most churches in most places receive though.
Because churhces are exempt from all the transparency required of normal nonprofits, they can easily mislead their congregations about how that donated money is spent.
If someone decides to switch churches because they found out that most of the money they donated was not actually going towards charitable causes, that would be an absolute win in my book.