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Religion Law

RFRA

The University of Akron

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Full-Text Articles in Law

Religiously-Based Social Security Exemptions: Who Is Eligible, How Did They Develop, And Are The Exemptions Consistent With The Religion Clauses And The Religious Freedom Restoration Act (Rfra)?, James Glenn Harwood Jan 2002

Religiously-Based Social Security Exemptions: Who Is Eligible, How Did They Develop, And Are The Exemptions Consistent With The Religion Clauses And The Religious Freedom Restoration Act (Rfra)?, James Glenn Harwood

Akron Tax Journal

There are parallels to this biblical example in the current regime of religiously-based social security exemptions. Ministers, members of religious orders, Christian Science practitioners and members of certain religious faiths may receive an exemption from social security taxes based on a religious or conscientious objection. This article will first review the current law granting exemption for these groups. It will next review the historical development of these exemptions in light of the overall expansion of the social security program to show the ad hoc approach Congress took in granting these religiously-based exemptions. It will then analyze the constitutionality of the …