Clergy people are entertainers. Their habitual audiences come away on a weekly basis with very uplifting feelings of fear, shame and guilt ... and sometimes even, 'joyous' 'loving' mobs spontaneously form in the wake of a particularly solid performance.

Tax exemption only makes sense in terms of the charity that was traditionally expected from any local parsonage. Since the federal government has been much more effective (and egalitarian) than any church at actually providing continuing monetary 'charity' to citizens, that particular argument doesn't carry much weight any more. Certainly, some churches actually provide support to the unfortunate, but it's usually with the expectation that the unfortunate pay some 'spiritual tribute' to the church in order to qualify. That seems like an underhanded bit of extortion to me.

Tax religions like any other corporate member of the entertainment industry. The dollar figure actually given toward charity should legitimately qualify for a deduction, but only in relation to their total take.