The Federal and state governments, as well as most European nations, typically do not tax
churches, even though they use such public services as fire and police protection. This practice
presents challenging conflicts, especially in balancing freedom of religion with the prohibition on
establishing a state religion.
What will be an ideal response?
1. On the one hand, by granting this preferential tax status, does the government actually
seem to be promoting religion? Develop arguments that it is and then develop a critique
of those arguments.
2. On the other hand, if the government taxed religion, would it seem to be infringing on
the freedom of expression of religion? Develop arguments that it is and then develop a
critique of those arguments.
3. The Internal Revenue Service has never officially defined "religion," although it has
indicated some criteria. The IRS has been reluctant to impose a government-mandated
definition of "religion," as that might violate the separation of church and state. Yet, it
needs to make clear that these tax exemptions are only available to certain
organizations. How would you define "religion" for these purposes?
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The puzzle of music is the problem:
What will be an ideal response?
How does the web of belief figure into whether certain evidence confirms a story?
A. Evidence strengthens a web of belief. B. A story confirms a web of belief if there is evidence for it. C. A story will be confirmed if it fits well into a preexisting web of belief. D. A web of belief constitutes a story that generates evidence.
A "trade secret"
A) is legally equivalent to a patent or copyright. B) need not be treated confidentially by the company in order to be protected. C) can be almost any information not generally known if it is valuable to its possessor and treated confidentially. D) is a narrow, precise concept that the law defines in great detail.