To mock televangelists and demonstrate how they get away with tax exemptions, British comedian John Oliver created a fake church, which he called "Our Lady of Perpetual Exemption."
Now, the mock church has turned out to be a big hit, receiving thousands of dollars in actual donations.
In an episode of his show "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver" which aired on HBO last week, the television host criticised how televangelists supposedly capitalise on the tax exemption granted by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) on churches in the US to make themselves rich.
The IRS does not impose taxes on anything designated as a church, by virtue of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, which grants the free exercise of religion.
To showcase firsthand how easy it is to set up a church, Oliver established his own, and then asked his viewers to donate money in the form of "seeds," just like what televangelists call it, through a P.O. box. Those who sow these "seeds" are told that they would reap a "harvest" of spiritual blessings, healing, or financial security.
Oliver also pledged to give to charity whatever donations his fake church will receive.
Remarkably, Oliver revealed in the latest episode of his show that donations have been pouring in for his fake church.
"For those of you who have sent US currency, blessings unto you. We have received thousands of envelopes with thousands of dollars—some featuring heartwarming notes, such as this $5 bill with the message, 'Take my seed, you rat-faced bastard,'" Oliver quipped.
"We also received multiple checks, including this one for $65 billion, which you may have sent in as a joke, but guess what? We're cashing it. So who's laughing now?" he added.
Not only that, Oliver's mock church also received a lot of bizarre items, ranging for actual plant seeds to beef jerky.
"The more money you send in, the more blessings will be returned to you. And that is still something I'm, amazingly, legally allowed to say," Oliver joked.
