There's something shall I say a bit odd about a group of atheists calling themselves a "church". But it seems that the government in Canada agrees with many people here that atheism is not a belief system.
Church of Atheism denied charitable status as court finds it isn’t a religion
The Federal Court of Appeal has upheld the minister of national revenue’s refusal to register the Church of Atheism of Central Canada as a charity, saying the not-for-profit corporation fails to meet a set of common-law guidelines for what constitutes a religion.
“It did not demonstrate that its belief system is based on a particular and comprehensive system of doctrine and observances,” Justice Marianne Rivoalen said in the decision.
...
The group, she said, had pointed to a document called the “Ten Commandments of Energy” as a sacred text. The revenue minister had not found that convincing, Rivoalen noted, saying the group’s description of the document “provides no detailed information as to the particular and comprehensive system of faith and worship.”
“Given the scope and vagueness of what was asserted here, it was reasonable for the minister to deny the appellant under the heading of ‘advancement of religion.’” Rivoalen said.
I wouldn't have expected the tax exempt status to be narrow enough to exclude such a group (unless they lobby the legislature). Here in the U.S., it's pretty broad, unless you just avoid one of the many categories I guess.
For instance, 501c3:
To be tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, an organization must be
organized and
operated exclusively for
exempt purposes set forth in section 501(c)(3), and none of its earnings may
inure to any private shareholder or individual. In addition, it may not be an
action organization, i.e.
, it may not attempt to influence legislation as a substantial part of its activities and it may not participate in any campaign activity for or against political candidates.
It still seems you could make up a huge range of exempt organizations, for instance:
Organizations that may be exempt under Internal Revenue Code section 501(c)(7), if they meet the requirements for exemption, include--
- College social/academic fraternities and sororities
- Country clubs
- Amateur hunting, fishing, tennis, swimming and other sport clubs
- Dinner clubs that provide a meeting place library, and dining room for members
- Variety clubs
- Hobby clubs
- Homeowners or community associations whose primary function is to own and maintain recreational areas and facilities
Examples of Tax Exempt Social and Recreational Clubs | Internal Revenue Service
So, like if you just want a club, and you aren't for profit and are not going to lobby the legislature, it seems like you could probably get exempt pretty easily here in the U.S.
Not saying national organizations should be given just unlimited presumption of being not-for-profit. I think they ought to be audited routinely. To me, it was surprising the level of accumulated funds the O'Hairs had easy access to for the group American Atheists,, prominently led by the famous Madeline Murray O'Hair of many public lawsuits getting national attention -- that had an incident in which O'Hair and a relative were apparently kidnapped and extorted for a large amount of money, which apparently had been accumulated by the atheist organization, before being murdered.
Madalyn Murray O'Hair - Wikipedia I mention the accumulation of funds, because of how it suggests a national level group perhaps should at least be audited, to find out what they are doing, and whether they really are non profit, really aren't lobbying, and such.
they just don't want to admit it.