Washington Ethical Society v. District of Columbia was a 1957 case of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The Washington Ethical Society functions much like a church, but regards itself as a non-theistic religious institution, honoring the importance of ethical living without mandating a belief in a supernatural origin for ethics. The case involved denial of the Society's application for tax exemption as a religious organization. The D.C. Circuit court reversed the Tax Court's ruling, defined the Society as a religious organization, and granted its tax exemption.
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