Being an eternal skeptic I find most charities unless researched for funds utilisation are nothing more than a for-profit organization.

DUH. Problem is too many 'Christians' don't give to help others they give to help themselves.

In my honest opinion, biased as it may seem, there IS little or nothing in religions that can be remotely classed as being truly 100% charitable.

I’d love to see a thorough audit on all tax exempt charities along with some reasonable standards on how much they can pay for “overhead” and salaries. I guess there’s no way to prevent stupid people from giving their life savings to thieves and con-artists, but at least we should be able to see how many limos and Lear jets they’re buying with grandma’s Social Security check.

Completely agree.

In the US, religious organizations benefit from the notion that "member benefit" organizations are tax-deductible. This isn't just churches, but lodges and private clubs of all kinds.

Most of what a church does -- worship services, religious classes, socials -- are "member benefit" activities that benefit society, if at all, only indirectly. I argue that nothing a church does should be tax exempt except to the extent it extends benefits to the general society without strings attached -- such as advancing (secular) education and relieving poverty, as pointed out in the quote above.

And such activities generally can be separately incorporated. For example, a local congregation in my town operates an exemplary food kitchen for the poor and homeless, but it is under a separate nonprofit umbrella, despite being housed in a church annex. It is rather like how I can claim a portion of my house as a business expense based on the percent of square footage used for my home office. The food kitchen operation and expenses are definitely charity, and the portion of the church used for the food kitchen (and the percentage of days it is used for that purpose) can also shelter that portion of the church facility from taxation.

But not the whole blasted thing.

I will say that if you forbid Proselytizing by religious charities, they would stop doing it. The charity is nothing but a ruse to lure people in.

"Tax deductible" really speaks volumes I guess