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If a person's religion required him to tithe to be a member in good standing to be eligible for salvation, would this ruling be Constitutionally challengeable on the basis that his right to exercise his religion has been denied? Seems to me this ruling is going to be appealed forthwith. Another impetus for appeal is that neither charity or religious organizations look too kindly upon governmental meddling with their funding.
I noticed that Utah was singled out directly in the news article and then you say this
If a person's religion required him to tithe to be a member in good standing to be eligible for salvation,
Which immediately makes me think of Mormons.
They do teach thriftyness (sp?), and it's suppossed to be a part of thier life, and its an integral part of the religion. However, here in Utah, keeping up with the jonses has been reinvented. Everyone's got a damn camper, ATV's, two SUV's, a boat, and other toys.
If someone is in a religion that requires them to tithe, or hell, even if they just like giving to the Salvation Army.....well, damnit, they should have thought about that before they accrued a retarted amount of debt.
Tithing is not a debt. Its an option. Paying debt is not optional: It's part of how a capitalistic society is run. Without it, we might as well be bartering chickens.
BTW, in 2003, Utah was 3rd in the country for bankruptcy (tied with GA)
http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,595113204,00.html