You Don't Pay, You Don't get into heaven: Catholisicm in Germany

This astounded me,
"Germany's Roman Catholics are to be denied the right to Holy Communion or religious burial if they stop paying a special church tax."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-19699581Seems medieval at best, a sort of 'Spiritual Protection Racket' at worst.I'm aware that religions like Mormonism and Jehovah's witnesses require percentage payments. Catholicism in Ireland has mostly relied upon the collection plate and the peer pressure associated with that (oh.. and a little government help too).
but this just seems so blatant, and so against any message the bible might claim to hold.

Crackers must be getting expensive......

Not taking part in Communion does not mean someone cannot get into heaven, even in Roman Catholicism.

Several European countries have this bizarre tradition of being taxed by the state to fund your chosen religion. Of course, all you have to do to avoid this tax is inform the taxman that you are, in fact, an atheist, and thus have no reposibility to pay for the upkeep of some silly religious institution. It astonishes me that some 50 million Germans still have not opted for this route. I suppose the Church's actions are aimed at discouraging believers who want to take an active part in religious life, but who don't think God would mind if they fudged a bit on their tax bill.It wouldn't keep you out of heaven, though. The BBC article makes clear they'll still perform the last rites on your deathbed if you say sorry.

This isn't news. The holy mother church has sold indulgences for centuries. If you want certainty you must pay for it.

quote:

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if you say sorry

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not always possible on a deathbed

Here in Saskatchewan, we have a "separate" school system with Separate Schools and Separate School Boards in parallel to the pubic school system. You specifiy whether you want your taxes to go to the public school system or the separate school system.The separate school system is Roman Catholic.There was a young couple who paid their taxes into the separate school system for years but when their children were old enough to start school, they were told that they weren't eligible to attend the separate school because their parents weren't members in good standing of the Roman Catholic Church.Apparently, paying taxes isn't enough; you have to pay your dues directly to the Church as well.Edited by ringo, : Splling.

Ringo notes: No shit, Sherlock. Take the now-revealed 2011 Mitt Romney 1040 return: $4 million donated to the Church of Latter Day Saints, but only $2.25 of it declared on the Schedule A form so that his tax rate would be still above his campaign-promised 13%. Interesting, no? Maybe this eventually will fall under the umbrella of "politics makes strange bedfellows".However, I do have a big personal problem with any donations to any Church denominations being able to be deducted at all on any USA Schedule A. . . . And, of course, that's another story, while I clean this next bar glass and twirl my moustache superciliously.

Ah, an Irma reference.Double points.

My mother-in-law was refused last rites because she was not a member of the Catholic Church in good standing in this town as she was from another state and was in a rest home her last year.She was in good standing while still mobile and reasonably independent at the Catholic church in Leon, Iowa. However, she evidently lacked a passport.Another example of "Christian charity."**not applicable to all Christians