smeg<p>When Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries, a common complaint was, "but the church helps the poor!" Studies of medieval records found that only 6% of funds went toward helping the poor. Most of it went to construction projects and to support the lavish lifestyles of church leaders.</p><p>I think of this frequently in the context of taxing churches.</p><p><a href="https://assortedflotsam.com/tags/taxchurches" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>taxchurches</span></a> <a href="https://assortedflotsam.com/tags/history" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>history</span></a> <a href="https://assortedflotsam.com/tags/americanchristians" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>americanchristians</span></a> <a href="https://assortedflotsam.com/tags/religion" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>religion</span></a></p>