All religious institutions should automatically be considered 501(c)(4) organizations so that donors couldn't deduct their donations. All churches under the umbrella of a single religion should not automatically acquire 501(c)(3) status. Acquiring and maintaining 501(c)(3) status should pertain to each individual congregation. Churches accept donations to maintain operation, right? Usually, the people who donate to a charitable organization are not the people who benefit from any charitable work that the organization does. If you donate to an organization whose services you use (as a member, and as a participant in the social gatherings that your donations help to facilitate), then you shouldn't receive any itemized deduction for that donation. Besides, if the church acquired 501(c)(4) status, its members could legally air stances on political issues. Maybe churches with 501(c)(3) that violate that condition should automatically be bumped to 501(c)(4).