Last weekend 33 pastors/rabbis/faith leaders joined together with the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) to protest the law against non-profits endorsing a political candidate. They will be endorsing their candidate from the pulpit in order to get a case in court and overturn the law. From the Washington Times:
The ADF is contesting the 1954 "Johnson Amendment," named after then-Sen. Lyndon B. Johnson who inserted language into the IRS code that prohibited nonprofit groups, including churches, from endorsing or opposing candidates for political office. His efforts were aimed at two anti-communist nonprofit groups that opposed his re-election to the Senate, but had far greater effect on America's churches, synagogues, mosques and temples
The Wall Street Journal pulled an interesting quote:
"Congress has created a provision" to exempt churches from taxes, "and that provision has restrictions," says Donald Tobin, associate law-school dean at Ohio State University and a former Justice Department attorney. Churches "are obligated to follow them if they want the benefit."
What do you think? Should churches/mosques/synogogues be allowed to retain their tax-exempt status, while endorsing a candidate for office? Would you give-up your tax-exempt rights in order to endorse a candidate? For pastors, are there any government restrictions you would refuse in order to retain your tax exempt status? - being forced to perform gay marriages or being restricted from speaking against homosexuality, for example.
Regardless of tax-exempt rights, I don’t think it’s appropriate for pastors to endorse a candidate. I think pastors should tell their congregations its important to vote, and then they should leave it at that. It gets muddy when an opinion on a candidate is coming from the pulpit because then the congregants might think the pastor’s personal conviction is coming from God and therefore shouldn’t be questioned.
Comment by Kari Byrd - Sep 30, 2008 @ 06:28 AM
I really don’t care about the tax exempt status that much. I think it’s wrong and manipulative for a pastor to endorse specific candidates. I have no problem speaking from the pulpit about issues or propositions such as abortion, gay marriage, etc… But we cross a major ethical line when endorsing specific candidates as “God’s choice”. Who are we to know the heart of man? Or the heart of God, for that matter?
Comment by Jeff Myers - Sep 30, 2008 @ 08:08 AM
I think it’s utterly inappropriate for churches or pastors to endorse candidates or (have to think on this) perhaps even specific measures. Foster discussion, encourage good citizenship through voter registrations - great. But it is a monumental misuse of power and erodes our system of government to do what they’re doing.
The ADF is trying to have it both ways. “Think of the money we’ll get from churchgoers AND PACs!!” Greed, nothing more.
More insight on this issue from the razor-sharp Slacktivist.
Comment by Allan White - Sep 30, 2008 @ 10:45 AM
These are moral & religious issues that our Constitution protects, currently, in several ways. Short of the Constitution radically being rewritten, even mentioning the above issues is simply a scare tactic. I mean, “forced to marry gays!”. Really?
It would be instructive to look at the registered/underground church issue in China to really understand the challenges of church/state relationships.
Comment by Allan White - Sep 30, 2008 @ 10:49 AM
I believe that church are way to political as it is. Why dont we just focus our attention on becoming an influence in our community first!
Comment by Jeremy Rhodes - Oct 16, 2008 @ 12:07 PM