General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: There's one problem that the United States doesn't have [View all]Zeitghost
(3,796 posts)"operated exclusively for religious, educational, scientific or other charitable purposes;"
You seem to have stopped reading a bit short in the sentence.
That's a pretty broad umbrella. My wife, a wine maker, belongs to a professional association that operates as a non-profit. Vendors donate and the organizations put on dinners where presentations are given and they network around the dinner table eating and drinking good wine. The organizations mission is to facilitate the exchange of information and contribute to professional development and education of wine makers in the region it serves.
It's essentially a bunch of long time friends throwing dinner parties and talking shop... And if they could come up with the funds, they could throw in "educational" trips to France or New Zealand or any number of amazing locations, plenty of similar groups do.
I point these things out not to defend them but to explain how the system works, non-profits aren't just soup kitchens and animal rescues and that's a big part of why it's not nearly as simple as "tax the churches". The rules are already incredibly detailed and still allow for more or less anything short of outright scams and fully for profit endeavors.