INSTITUTIONAL CORRUPTION: MASS MEDIA AND RELIGION

Institutional Corruption: Mass Media and Religion
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation

The world over, religious organizations are supposed to be institutions of public trust. Followers of a given religion such as Christians, Hindus, and Muslims as well as the general public expect the religious leaders to be transparent and accountable in managing the affairs and finances of their institutions. However, cases of funds misappropriation and pilferage are increasingly being reported (Pavlo, 2018). The government is the supreme organization that is mandated with ensuring that both the profit oriented and not for profit organizations function within the set laws especially regarding the management of finances. However, the government is reluctant to become involved in the enforcement of religious frauds for two significant reasons.
First, religious institutions are susceptible to financial abuse because neither the congregants nor the government closely monitors their financial affairs. Religious bodies are registered as not-for-profit organizations and as such the government has little jurisdiction on how they utilize funds they raise. Also, the members of religious institutions have a laidback attitude in that they do not scrutinize funds use. If religious bodies are established for economic purposes, then the government would be able to monitor their financial activities. Moreover, the first amendment of the US constitutions protects religious bodies through its establishment and free exercise clauses (Pavlo, 2018).

Thus, the government has a hands-off policy that provides a protective blanket for fraudulent activities. Second, most incidences of fraudulent activities are never reported which is worsened by the propensity of the contributors to prefer to conceal funds misuse and pilferage from the public. Besides, religious institutions are not required to prepare an annual report as evidenced by the provisions of Internal Revenue Code section 501(a) (Annual Exempt Organization Return Who Must File, 2018). These two reasons justify why the government is reluctant to enforce religious fraud laws which have resultantly provided a conducive environment for financial scams in the religious domain.
References
Annual Exempt Organization Return Who Must File | Internal Revenue Service. (2018). Retrieved from HYPERLINK "http://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/annual-exempt-organization-return-who-must-file" www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/annual-exempt-organization-return-who-must-file
Pavlo, W. (2018). Retrieved from www.forbes.com/sites/walterpavlo/2013/11/18/fraud-thriving-in-u-s-churches-but-you-wouldnt-know-it/#39fad0edd9d4