Churches did pay tax after 1787, please see a book called
"Constitution of the 1700s and 1800s"
usually found at the library, you will find in that book that Churches did indeed pay taxes.
Now I am all for taxing the churches but by doing so we migght create a "state sponsered religion " the Church of England" comes to mind as a prime excample it is THE church of England and is a state sponsered religious group .. supported by taxes and does pay them
The Johnson Amendment
Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code sets forth a list of tax-exempt charitable organizations, including those established for religious purposes--in other words, churches, synagogues, mosques, and other houses of worship. Pursuant to a provision added in 1954 -- and known for its sponsor, then-Senator Lyndon Johnson, as the "Johnson Amendment"-- in order to keep its 501(c)(3) status, a charitable organization may "not participate in, or intervene in (including the publishing or distributing of statements), any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office."
What is at stake in being a 501(c)(3) organization? Tax deductions for one's contributors: Another provision of the Internal Revenue Code,
Section 170, provides that, subject to some limits not relevant here, donations to 501(c)(3) organizations are tax-deductible for the contributor, but only if the recipient organization complies with the Johnson Amendment.
Thus, as no one seriously doubts, the law commands that pastors who want their churches to retain the deductibility of contributions may not formally endorse or oppose candidates for public office when acting in their official capacity. A minister may preach that abortion is sinful or that the death penalty is murder, but he may not preach that congregants should vote for Candidate So-and-So because she will outlaw abortion or abolish the death penalty, unless he is willing to forego the financial advantages that Sections 501(c)(3) and 170 confer.