What defines a church depends entirely on who’s asking. A potential buyer once approached a city planner to ask what their Temple could and couldn’t do on a particular piece of property. A disagreement followed: the city kept referring to “church use,” while the buyer kept correcting them — they weren’t a church, they were a Temple. The disagreement wasn’t really about religion. It was about how governments define church use, and that definition changes depending on which government body is doing the defining.
The dictionary doesn’t help much here. It defines a church as a building used for, or body of people worshiping, Christianity — which is exactly the kind of definition that creates confusion for a Temple, Synagogue, or Mosque trying to get a straight answer from a city or county.
The Term Isn’t Universal
The word “church” isn’t used by all religions or faiths, and most people would say there’s a real difference between a Church, Temple, Synagogue, and Mosque. Some use Church and Temple interchangeably; others strongly object to that. None of that is really the point when the question is what defines a church for legal purposes — the goal here isn’t to settle a religious debate, but to explain how governmental bodies actually treat the question.
What Defines a Church for the IRS
The word “church” appears in the Internal Revenue Code but is never specifically defined there. The IRS uses it generically, as a place of worship, without favoring one religion over another. To determine what defines a church under that generic meaning, the IRS looks for a combination of characteristics, without requiring all of them and without favoring any particular one:
- A distinct legal existence
- A recognized creed and form of worship
- A definite and distinct ecclesiastical government
- A formal code of doctrine and discipline
- A distinct religious history
- Membership not associated with any other church or denomination
- An organization of ordained ministers
- Ordained ministers selected after completing prescribed courses of study
- Literature of its own
- Established places of worship
- Regular congregations
- Regular religious services
- Sunday schools for religious instruction of the young
- Schools for the preparation of its ministers
To complicate things further, the IRS distinguishes between a church (a religious institution) and a religious organization — nondenominational ministries, interdenominational and ecumenical groups, and similar entities whose principal purpose is the study or advancement of religion. A religious organization can still qualify as a church if it meets enough of the characteristics above.
What Defines a Church According to the Courts
The courts set the foundation the IRS still relies on today. In De La Salle Institute v. United States, 195 F. Supp. 891 (N.D. Cal. 1961), a U.S. District Court held that in the absence of a statutory definition of “church,” the term should be given its “common meaning and usage.” That decision, applying that common-meaning approach, is the origin of what’s often loosely called the “fourteen-point test” above — a label that’s a bit misleading, since there’s no fixed number of criteria that must be satisfied, and other facts can matter too.
Later cases refined this further, holding that at minimum, a church includes a body of believers or communicants that assembles regularly to worship — and unless the organization is reasonably available to the public in its worship, education, and promulgation of doctrine, it can’t fulfill that associational role. Courts have also held that Congress didn’t intend “church” in a generic or universal sense, but rather in the sense of a denomination or sect, and that a group doesn’t need an organizational hierarchy or a dedicated building to qualify as a church.
What Defines a Church for California Property Tax Purposes
California doesn’t define “church” either, but it does define religious use for property tax exemption purposes. Where the primary use of buildings, land, and equipment is religious worship, the exemption remains available even with incidental, noninterfering uses — religious instruction, choir practice, church administration, business meetings, and most auxiliary organization activities accountable to the local church authority.
California courts have also made clear that a religious belief doesn’t require belief in a deity, and the content of a belief isn’t a matter for governmental inquiry. In Fellowship of Humanity v. County of Alameda (1957) 153 Cal.App.2d 673, 693, the court enumerated what qualifies as a religion for tax exemption purposes: (1) a belief, not necessarily involving supernatural powers; (2) a cult involving a gregarious association openly expressing that belief; (3) a system of moral practice resulting from the belief; and (4) an organization within the cult designed to observe its tenets. The content of the belief itself doesn’t matter.
California’s Revenue and Taxation Code also makes clear that the property tax exemption applies to otherwise-qualifying land and improvements regardless of whether they’re owned by the church, religious denomination, or sect itself.
What Defines a Church at the Local Level
Local zoning codes rarely define “church” at all. Most simply list Church, Temple, Synagogue, or Mosque as allowable uses, and smaller cities often just use “church” without further distinction. That’s because zoning is aimed at the use of the land and its compatibility with the surrounding area — not at who’s using it.
The practical takeaway: regardless of how any particular government body defines “church,” the underlying use as a house or place of worship is what matters. Whatever the label, don’t argue the terminology with a planning department or government employee — argue the use.
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Disclaimer: Every situation is different and particular facts may vary thereby changing or altering a possible course of action or conclusion. The information contained herein is intended to be general in nature as laws vary between federal, state, counties, and municipalities and therefore may not apply to any given matter. This information is not intended to be legal advice or relied upon as a legal opinion, course of action, accounting, tax or other professional service. You should consult the proper legal or professional advisor knowledgeable in the area that pertains to your particular situation.
