Property - religious purposes - exemption - legislative declaration

(1) Property, real and personal, which is owned and used solely and exclusively for religious purposes and not for private gain or corporate profit shall be exempt from the levy and collection of property tax.

(2) In order to guide members of the public and public officials alike in the making of their day-to-day decisions, to provide for a consistent application of the laws, and to assist in the avoidance of litigation, the general assembly hereby finds and declares that religious worship has different meanings to different religious organizations; that the constitutional guarantees regarding establishment of religion and the free exercise of religion prevent public officials from inquiring as to whether particular activities of religious organizations constitute religious worship; that many activities of religious organizations are in the furtherance of the religious purposes of such organizations; that such religious activities are an integral part of the religious worship of religious organizations; and that activities of religious organizations which are in furtherance of their religious purposes constitute religious worship for purposes of section 5 of article X of the Colorado constitution. This legislative finding and declaration shall be entitled to great weight in any and every court.

(3) For the purpose of claiming an exemption pursuant to this section, property that is owned and used by a charitable trust that is exempt from taxation under section 501 (c)(3) of the federal Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, shall be treated the same as property that is owned and used by any other type of nonprofit organization.