5 Richest Religious Organizations
Do you believe in the existence of God?
Well, most of you do and we want your full focus.
By believing in God, people have faith that their soul is safe with God and there is something
positive waiting for everyone.
Religion celebrates the spirit of positivity and hope and thus religious organizations
are formed.
But they have to be funded and who funds them?
Yes, it’s us- the followers, the tax payers.
But you would be surprised to know that your hard earned money has made these organizations
a wealthy setup.
If you ever think about the unequal income distribution within your country or globally,
know that a big chunk of wealth goes to religious institutes which do not have to pay taxes
even!
Number 5.
Church of Scientology L. Ron Hubbard incorporated the first Scientology
church in December 1953 in Camden, New Jersey.
By this time the Hubbard Association of Scientologists International had already been operating for
a year and Hubbard himself had already been selling Scientology books and technologies.
In 1953, Hubbard announced the religious nature of Scientology in a bulletin to all Scientologists,
stressing its relation to the concept of Dharma, derived from Indian religions.
And then the first Church of Scientology opened in Los Angeles the very next year.
But what is scientology all about?
In the words of Hubbard, “A civilization without insanity, without criminals and without
war, where the able can prosper and honest beings can have rights, and where man is free
to rise to greater heights, are the aims of Scientology.”
This basic idea lead to its credibility as a religion in various countries but been described
as both a cult and a commercial enterprise and is thus scrutinized!
The reason behind this is that the religion is subscription based with members going up
in rank as one pays a required fee.
The highest rank is Operating Thetan VIII that costs around $256,000.
It is said that the net worth of the Church of Scientology is about $1 billion!
In fact Tom Cruise is a member of the Church of Scientology and donates generously to it!
Number 4.
The Church of England The state church of England is The Church
of England which is also the mother church of the international Anglican Communion.
The Church of England’s earliest origins date back to the Roman Catholic Church’s
influence in Europe during the 2nd century.
But the church’s official formation is said to be started by King Henry VIII during the
Reformation in England in the 16th century.
In the 1530s, the King broke ties with the Pope, any idea why?
The Catholic Church wouldn’t allow him to annul his marriage to his first wife, Catherine
of Aragon, who didn’t produce any male heirs.
And thus he declared himself the supreme head of the Church of England.
But in 1553 Queen Mary succeeded the throne and embraced traditional Roman Catholic ideals.
Today the Church upholds many of the customs of Roman Catholicism while it also embraces
fundamental ideas adopted during the Protestant Reformation.
We wonder if their liberal outlook took their net worth to $7.8 billion with more than $320
million in donations and $400 million through its events and services.
Number 3.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints This Nontrinitarian, Christian restorationist
church is considered by its members to be the restoration of the original church founded
by Jesus Christ.
This seems to justify the $40 billion net worth of the Church!
Yea people, this really is the worth of the fastest-growing and richest religions in the
world.
Its members are called Mormons and can be found everywhere, from Scandinavia to Japan.
At the turn of the 21st century, Mormon assets were already being estimated to be at over
$30 billion with an annual revenue of $6 billion.
The most amazing thing is that 90% of this amount comes from member contributions called
tithing, in which members are required to give 10 percent of their entire income!
Number 2.
The Roman Catholic Church As one of the oldest religious institutions
in the world, the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with more than
1.29 billion members worldwide.
And has played a prominent role in the history and development of Western civilization.
The hierarchy of the Catholic Church is headed by the Bishop of Rome, known as the pope,
who is the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church.
The current pope, Francis, was elected on 13 March 2013 by papal conclave.
The pope is also Sovereign of Vatican City, a small city-state entirely enclaved within
the city of Rome, which is an entity distinct from the Holy See.
It is as head of the Holy See, not as head of Vatican City State.
Church membership at the end of 2014 was 1.272 billion, which is 17.8% of the world population.
Catholics represent about half of all Christians.
Catholic priests are expected to make a vow of poverty, so it is ironic that the church
is actually the richest religion in the world.
The Catholic Church owns some of the greatest art works ever made which are priceless in
addition to land and properties which cannot be sold, donations and gold owned.
Therefore, the actual worth of the Church cannot be quantified and remains a mystery!
But all is not rosy, from the late 20th century, the Catholic Church has been criticized for
its doctrines on sexuality, its refusal to ordain women and its handling of sexual abuse
cases!
Number 1.
Padmanabhaswamy Temple Located in Thiruvananthapuram, India, the
Padmanabhaswamy Temple is built in an intricate fusion of the indigenous Kerala style and
the Tamil style of architecture.
The principal deity Vishnu is enshrined in the "Anantha Shayanam" posture, the eternal
yogic sleep on the serpent Adisheshan.
Sree Padmanabhaswamy is the tutelary deity of the royal family of Travancore.
The titular Maharaja of Travancore Moolam Thirunal Rama Varma is the trustee of the
temple.
In line with the Temple Entry Proclamation, only those who profess the Hindu faith are
permitted entry to the temple and devotees have to strictly follow the dress code.
The temple is the wealthiest place of worship in the country because vaults when A, C, D,
E and F were opened and monumental items worth $18 billion were found.
These included a three-and-a-half feet tall solid pure golden idol of Mahavishnu, studded
with hundreds of diamonds and rubies and other precious stones, gold crowns, gold chains,
coins and plenty of other things.
It is said that if the antique and cultural value were taken into account these assets
could be worth ten times the current market price.
But vault B has not been opened since 1880s because it is believed to be guarded by cobras!
The record of that opening says that the treasure was worth $1.8 billion but if you consider
inflation and rise of prices of gold and silver, the current worth could be about $770 billion!
But since the vault hasn’t been opened, we can’t be sure of what lays inside it!
Is there any other religious organization that you think should be on this list?
Tell us in the comment section below.
Subscribe to our channel if you liked this video.
And while you're here, check out our other videos and tell us what you think of them.
You can also find us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Thanks for watching.