Registering members of religious groups

Submitted by Lou Lilienthal (United States), Dec 30, 2004 at 22:32

It is way overdue for the government to maintain a register of members of all religions in the U.S. This should naturally include Christians of all stripes, Jews of all sorts (including those who say they are "secular"), plus Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Mormons, Scientologists, etc., etc.

Religious groups now hold meetings all over the country and are allowed to wander freely around the US, raising money, influencing the government, and God (joke intended) knows what else, without the government knowing anything about their activities or the source of their money. This is a recipe for chaos and it's a miracle we have not had more trouble as a result. There are plenty enough of skeptics and other non-religious people in this country who could be recruited to maintain such an oversight in an even-handed manner, probably as a branch of the IRS.

I say go for it. This would not "establish" any particular religion, so it would be completely constitutional.

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