Church Politicking

Church politicking seems to be popping up in the news quite a bit this election season. CNN's Lou Dobbs is the most recent journalist to join the discussion, with commentary posted on CNN's web site today.

Dobbs comments:

The political strategists, campaign managers, and the partisan savants will be working overtime to excite their conservative, liberal, Republican and Democratic bases, trying to get at least 50 percent of us who've registered to vote to actually go to the polls.

As in election years past, they're going to have a lot of help, and not just from PACs, labor unions and 527 groups like MoveOn and Progress for America. Oh no, we're going to be treated to something akin to, and as close as we should expect to get to, divine intervention. Evangelical Christians, Jews, Catholics, Muslims and Mormons are already getting rowdy, not only on their respective pulpits, but in the mail, on the air and certainly on the campaign trails.

Now I know you're thinking that this is America, what is religion doing in politics and what is politics doing in religion. As it turns out, just about everything.

Earlier in the year, the IRS gave notice they intend to crack down on houses of worship that engage in partisan political activity. Partisan, as defined by the IRS, means to endorse or oppose a specific candidate for public office, or a political party. A house of worship may engage in issue advocacy. They are simply not supposed to tell followers who to vote for, or against.

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Let's repeat that -- a house of worship may engage in issue advocacy. They are simply not supposed to tell followers who to vote for, or against.

It's important to know the distinction, because people like James Dobson, Tony Perkins, Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson would have you think otherwise. They are trying to convince Americans that clergy are being muzzled. That freedom of speech doesn't exist in a house of worship. Nothing could be further from the truth.

The First Amendment of our Constitution declares that, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." But the devil's in the details, if you will, and the often demonized Internal Revenue Service has taken up the issue where other federal agencies and branches of government have feared to tread: This summer the IRS sent out a letter warning letter to more than 15,000 churches and tax-exempt nonprofit organizations throughout the nation. The warning letter is meant to serve notice that any sort of politicking could endanger their tax-exempt status.

The IRS discovered a disturbing amount of intervention by religious groups in national politics in 2004. It determined nearly five dozen churches and charities violated laws against political activities, and there are now 40 active investigations into the politicking of various churches.

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Americans United for Separation of Church and State recently mailed 117,000 letters to houses of worship in 11 states, warning them to not be taken in by the likes of Tony Perkins and the Family Research Council, or Pat Robertson's Christian Coalition. Following the advice of these groups can place a churches tax exempt status in jeopardy.

What is the Constitutional and appropriate role of religion in our political lives. Rev. Barry Lynn of Americans United for Separation of Church and State says there are definite limits. "What houses of worship cannot do, under federal law, is to endorse or oppose candidates for public office. They may not use their resources to intervene in a partisan race. Houses of worship cannot become cogs in anyone's political machine."

Following the 2004 elections we witnessed just how devastating it can be for a church to become involved in partisan politics. The East Waynesville Baptist Church, in North Carolina, expelled several members of their congregation for 'voting for the wrong presidential candidate.' Some of the individuals asked to leave the church had been members for 30 years or longer. They were devastated.

The irony of this particular situation is that North Carolina is home to Rep Walter Jones, who has repeatedly introduced legislation that would extend special privileges to houses of worship and allow them to be the only 501(c)(3) tax exempt non-profit group that could endorse or oppose candidates for public office.

Section 26 U.S.C. 501 (c) (3) of the tax code states that houses of worship and other non-profits may "not participate in, or intervene in (including the publishing or distribution of statements), any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office."

Clergy should not risk the tax status of their houses of worship by delving into partisan politics. Separation of church and state exists to prevent just this situation.

"Americans do not want to see their churches politicized," said Rev. Lynn. "Our houses of worship are already free to speak out on public concerns, and they don't need politicians trying to turn them into cogs in a political machine."

::: First Freedom First :::