Pastors Decry Federal Judge's Decision Arguing That Tax Free Housing Allowance for Clergy Is Unconstitutional

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Pastor Steven Furtick's 16,000 square-foot mansion in North Carolina.

The average pastor in America could soon be facing personal financial pain after a federal judge in Madison, Wis., recently ruled that a tax free housing allowance currently enjoyed by clergy under the protection of a nearly 60-year-old law is "unconstitutional," and pastors are not happy about it.

The rulingwas handed down just over a week ago in a lawsuit filed by the Madison-based Freedom From Religion Foundation and named U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew and acting IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel as defendants.

It now paves the way for a legal challenge to the law that permits the tax free pastoral housing allowances, which a WCNC report estimates amounts to as much as $1 billion annually.

Pastors like Doug Webster of The Following, a church in Lake Forest, Calif., however, disagree with U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb's opinion.

"Some pastors today are paid well but there are still many working sacrificially under a 'special burden on religious exercise' beyond what a U.S. District Judge understands for those choosing a profession of prophet over profit," Webster told The Christian Post.

"My life as a pastor is special and significant but rarely secure financially. Ministry is already taxing enough. Bleeding a few hundred dollars more monthly from me is a sad commentary, especially if the motivation is greed, envy or pride. I will render unto Caesar what is Caesar's but I advise prudence of sitting judges to encumber the keepers of the spring. Where will the village turn for counsel, support and prayer when the entire community has turned brackish?" added Webster.

In her decision highlighted by the Wisconsin State Journal, Judge Crabb said the law passed in 1954 giving the tax exempt privilege to clergy is a violation of the "establishment clause" in the first amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation noted that the law allows clergy to use the untaxed income to purchase a home and in a practice known as "double dipping," they are also able to deduct interest paid on the mortgage and property taxes, according to the Journal.

Crabb highlighted that the exemption is a boon to ministers, and cited a 2002 statement by then-U.S. Rep. Jim Ramstad of Minnesota that the tax exemption would save clergy members $2.3 billion in taxes from 2002-2007. This statement, she said, highlights why the law giving the benefit to pastors is wrong.

"The exemption provides a benefit to religious persons and no one else, even though doing so is not necessary to alleviate a special burden on religious exercise. This conclusion makes it unnecessary to consider plaintiffs' equal protection argument," wrote Crabb in her decision.