Okay i'm honestly the happiest i've been in a while. So I was on Reddit and I came across this post:
http://www.reddit.com/r/atheism/comments/aw7hl/ive_successfully_taken_the_reverence_out_of/
In short this guy tells how (while trying to convince his mom and his sister to check credentials) he became an ordained minister... Online.... for free.
http://www.ulc.net/
He went there and applied to be a minister and was accepted and is legally/officially a minister. An atheist did that. So not only should we check for credentials but we should all apply to become an ordained minister. Can you imagine going to religious sites and forcing them to call you a minister. That would be fucking great.
There is also R. A. Zorger's Church of Spiritual Humanism site which offers free online ordination, similar to the above. Most Spiritual Humanists are agnostics or atheists who feel that religious type rituals and traditions are helpful to one's well-being, although their beliefs vary quit a bit. Marriages and other services can be performed in most states.
http://www.spiritualhumanism.org/ (http://www.spiritualhumanism.org/)
http://www.spiritualhumanismforum.com/index.php (http://www.spiritualhumanismforum.com/index.php)
Win. I want to become a reverend and go to the crazy guy that preaches in front of our library and start arguing and when he asks my name ill be like no that's reverend
Special IRS tax rules for clergy:
http://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc417.html
I'm still looking to see if there are any other special laws that apply to clergy. I read something about clergy having a legal obligation to report child abuse but I haven't found a good source yet.
Quote from: "AlP"I read something about clergy having a legal obligation to report child abuse but I haven't found a good source yet.
Those legislators must have a sense of humour.
Quote from: "SSY"Quote from: "AlP"I read something about clergy having a legal obligation to report child abuse but I haven't found a good source yet.
Those legislators must have a sense of humour.
I found a good source for the above. Most states have enacted some kind of mandatory child abuse reporting law that apparently applies to everyone. In some states, the law does not apply to clergy who find out about the abuse through "sacred communication" like a confession. This changed in many states following the Catholic church child abuse scandal.
Link (http://www.smith-lawfirm.com/mandatory_reporting.htm)
What I'm really looking for is some laws that benefit the clergy: a tax break or exemption from certain laws. Then I might get myself ordained!