Last Week Tonight with John Oliver Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! === Our Lady of Perpetual Exemption === {{Main|Our Lady of Perpetual Exemption}} In August 2015, Oliver hired a professional tax lawyer for his "Televangelists" segment to set up a church called [[Our Lady of Perpetual Exemption]] as a legal entity. He did this partly as a way to demonstrate how "disturbingly easy" it is, in terms of paperwork, to set up a [[Tax exemption|tax-exempt]] religious organization as viewed by the [[Internal Revenue Service]]. As Oliver explained, the requirements needed to be defined as a "church" are quite broad. Since regulatory guidelines require an established location for a church, Oliver chose his studio location in New York City as its official location,<ref name="Mediaite">{{Cite web |last=Wilstein |first=Matt |date=August 17, 2015 |title=John Oliver One-Ups Colbert Super PAC by Creating His Own Tax-Exempt Church |url=https://www.mediaite.com/tv/john-oliver-one-ups-colbert-super-pac-by-creating-his-own-tax-exempt-church/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150825011710/http://www.mediaite.com/tv/john-oliver-one-ups-colbert-super-pac-by-creating-his-own-tax-exempt-church/ |archive-date=August 25, 2015 |access-date=August 26, 2015 |website=Mediaite |quote="... This is real," John Oliver repeatedly told his Last Week Tonight audience last night after announcing the creation of his new megachurch, Our Lady of Perpetual Exemption ..."}}</ref> although he registered the [[nonprofit organization]] in the state of [[Texas]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pellot |first=Brian |date=August 18, 2015 |title='Megareverend' John Oliver trolls televangelists with new tax-exempt church |url=https://religionnews.com/2015/08/18/john-oliver-hbo-last-week-tonight-televangelists-church-irs-creflo-dollar-tilton-copeland/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150819025650/http://www.religionnews.com/2015/08/18/john-oliver-hbo-last-week-tonight-televangelists-church-irs-creflo-dollar-tilton-copeland/ |archive-date=August 19, 2015 |website=Religion News Service |access-date=August 26, 2015 |quote="... Oliver registered his church as a nonprofit corporation in Texas, named his New York studio as its "established place of worship,"..."}}</ref> Oliver's "megachurch" had a [[Toll-free telephone number|toll-free phone number]] which allowed callers to donate to the church, and said that any money collected would be redistributed to the charitable relief organization [[Doctors Without Borders]].<ref name="usatoday">{{Cite news |last=Scott |first=Nate |date=August 17, 2015 |title=John Oliver takes on televangelism on 'Last Week Tonight' |work=[[USA Today]] |url=https://ftw.usatoday.com/2015/08/john-oliver-takes-on-televangelism-on-last-week-tonight |url-status=live |access-date=August 26, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150822104843/http://ftw.usatoday.com/2015/08/john-oliver-takes-on-televangelism-on-last-week-tonight |archive-date=August 22, 2015 |quote=... You can donate to the church, too. (Though eventually, all the donations will be moved to Doctors Without Borders.) ...}}</ref><ref name="Pedestrian">{{Cite web |last=Bracken |first=Claire |date=August 17, 2015 |title=John Oliver launches his very own anti-Evangelist church |url=https://www.pedestrian.tv/entertainment/john-oliver-launches-his-very-own-anti-evangelist-church/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170904194105/https://www.pedestrian.tv/entertainment/john-oliver-launches-his-very-own-anti-evangelist-church/ |archive-date=September 4, 2017 |access-date=August 26, 2015 |website=Pedestrian News |quote="... John Oliver ran a segment on "church's who exploit people's faith for monetary gain" and explored the ease at which these can be created in America ..."}}</ref> Oliver announced the formation of his church on the episode of the show that aired on August 16, 2015.<ref name="TimeMag">{{Cite magazine |last=Locker |first=Melissa |date=August 17, 2015 |title=John Oliver Becomes a Televangelist and Finally Starts His Own Church |url=http://time.com/3999933/john-oliver-televangelist-church-alst-week-tonight/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150824174155/http://time.com/3999933/john-oliver-televangelist-church-alst-week-tonight/ |archive-date=August 24, 2015 |magazine=Time |access-date=August 26, 2015 |quote=... The satirical aim of Our Lady of Perpetual Exemption will be to collect copious, tax-exempt donations ...}}</ref> Matt Wilstein, writing for ''[[Mediaite]]'', saw Oliver's stunt as being along the same lines as comedian [[Stephen Colbert]]'s setting up of a [[501(c)(4)]] organization{{snd}}[[Colbert Super PAC]]{{snd}}as a way to "test the absurd limits of the Supreme Court's [[Citizens United v. FEC|Citizens United decision]]"; Oliver's megachurch, in contrast, is a way to test whether the IRS might view his "megachurch" as a tax-exempt organization.<ref name="Mediaite" /> Steve Thorngate, writing in ''[[The Christian Century]]'', suggested that the question of the religious exemption from taxation was more difficult and nuanced than Oliver portrayed, and not a simple matter of government regulation, describing Oliver's pivot to IRS policy as "unhelpful." However, Thorngate agreed that Oliver's exposure and criticism of "manipulative sleazeballs" who "fleece the faithful" is "spot-on".<ref name="ChristianCentury">{{Cite web |last=Thorngate |first=Steve |date=August 17, 2015 |title=Why is John Oliver's televangelism segment about the IRS? |url=https://www.christiancentury.org/blogs/archive/2015-08/why-john-olivers-televangelism-segment-about-irs |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150820000830/http://www.christiancentury.org/blogs/archive/2015-08/why-john-olivers-televangelism-segment-about-irs |archive-date=August 20, 2015 |access-date=August 26, 2015 |website=The Christian Century |quote="... Oliver's scornful outrage: televangelists who fleece the faithful ... The question of religious tax exemption generally is more complicated. ..."}}</ref> Leonardo Blair, writing for ''[[Christian Post]]'', described Oliver's segment as a "brutal takedown" of televangelists and churches which preach "the [[prosperity theology|prosperity gospel]]," a message that dupes people into thinking that cash donations will solve medical or financial problems, while in fact the donations go to the personal aggrandizement of televangelists who buy expensive jets or large mansions.<ref name="ChristianPost">{{Cite web |last=Leonardo |first=Blair |date=August 17, 2015 |title=Comedian John Oliver Lampoons Televangelists on 'Last Week Tonight' Show; Opens Our Lady of Perpetual Exemption Church |url=https://www.christianpost.com/news/comedian-john-oliver-lampoons-televangelists-on-last-week-tonight-show-opens-our-lady-of-perpetual-exemption-church-143003/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150823142157/http://www.christianpost.com/news/comedian-john-oliver-lampoons-televangelists-on-last-week-tonight-show-opens-our-lady-of-perpetual-exemption-church-143003/ |archive-date=August 23, 2015 |website=The Christian Post |access-date=August 26, 2015 |quote=... From Creflo Dollar to Kenneth Copeland, late night comedian John Oliver delivered a brutal takedown. ...}}</ref> A week later, on the following episode, Oliver devoted a short segment to the donations the church had received, which included money from around the world. Oliver said he had received "thousands of envelopes with thousands of dollars" from donors. Displayed were several US Post Office containers full of mail. Oliver told viewers that the more money they sent in, the more "blessings" would be returned to them, adding that "that is still something I'm{{snd}}amazingly{{snd}}legally allowed to say."<ref>{{Cite news |date=August 24, 2015 |title=John Oliver Televangelist Church Received "Thousands of Dollars," Seeds and Beef Jerky |work=The Hollywood Reporter |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/john-oliver-televangelist-church-received-817058 |url-status=live |access-date=August 25, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150826221454/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/john-oliver-televangelist-church-received-817058 |archive-date=August 26, 2015 |quote=... We have received thousands of envelopes with thousands of dollars ...}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=John Oliver β Our lady of perpetual exemption |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcPeBAYYuhc |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221020012728/https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=JcPeBAYYuhc |archive-date=October 20, 2022 |website=YouTube |date=April 7, 2016 |access-date=November 17, 2022 }}</ref> Oliver announced that the Church would be shutting down during his show on September 13, 2015. All monetary donations have been forwarded to Doctors Without Borders.<ref>{{Cite web |date=September 13, 2015 |title=Closed. Praise Be Unto You |url=http://www.ourladyofperpetualexemption.com/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150827212918/http://www.ourladyofperpetualexemption.com/ |archive-date=August 27, 2015 |website=Our Lady of Perpetual Exemption |access-date=September 13, 2015}}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page