John Oliver's spoof church has received thousands of dollars in donations after targeting televangelists preaching the prosperity gospel.
Oliver set up his own church last week, Our Lady of Perpetual Exemption, to demonstrate how easy it was to create a tax-free 'church' in the United States. He promised that any donations received would be sent on to medical charity Doctors Without Borders.
"To be honest, slightly more of you responded than we were expecting," Oliver said on Sunday's Last Week Tonight.
His 'church' has received numerous donations including bags of actual seeds, beef jerky and a $100 trillion bill from Zimbabwe. However, it has also received thousands of genuine US dollars.
The comedian ridiculed a series of televangelists during his HBO show last week. "This is about the churches that exploit people's faith for monetary gain," he said.
Oliver then launched into a 20-minute tirade where he revealed a string of preachers who demand 'seed' money from their followers in exchange for the Lord's blessing. He said the preachers use this money to treat themselves to lavish private jets, vacations, and luxurious 'parsonages' in the form of mega-mansions.
Anything designated a church, including the Church of Scientology, is exempt from paying tax in the US. The internal revenue service has received criticism for their open-ended definition and for conducting just three audits of churches in 2013 and 2014, and zero between 2009 and 2013.
Oliver piled the pressure on the IRS in this week's show as he assumed the persona of Pastor John Oliver, mega-pastor and CEO.
"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," he concluded.
