Religious Right Pushes Churches to Openly Defy the Law and Campaign for Tea Party and Conservatives

[marmar]

via AlterNet:




Church & State Magazine / By Rob Boston

Religious Right Pushes Churches to Openly Defy the Law and Campaign for Tea Party and Other Conservative Candidates
As organizations that claim tax-exempt status, churches cannot directly intervene in elections. A religious right group is trying to change that.

August 8, 2010 |


When South Dakota gubernatorial hopeful Gordon Howie put out a call for pastors to endorse him from the pulpit, the Rev. H. Wayne Williams was quick to respond.

Williams, pastor of Liberty Baptist Tabernacle in Rapid City, endorsed the Republican candidate during a church service on May 16.

An ecstatic Howie, the self-professed “Tea Party” favorite, quickly issued a press release praising the action.

“Last week, Howie challenged South Dakota churches and their pastors to become more politically active in the stretch run to the June 8th primary election, urging pastors to endorse candidates and advocate specific issues from the pulpit,” read the Howie media statement. “Reverend H. Wayne Williams, Pastor of Liberty Baptist Tabernacle in Rapid City, became one of the first to accept the challenge, adding an official endorsement of Gordon Howie for Governor to a message delivered during his Sunday night services.”

The release quoted Williams, who said, “I believe Gordon Howie has clearly demonstrated the courage of character and conviction to take a position that has long been forgotten and lost in this country. I’m glad that this issue has been brought to the forefront of public conversation. It is high time that churches return to the role that they’ve occupied historically in guiding their flocks in making election decisions.”

But not everyone agrees with this kind of blatant church electioneering. Williams seems to have been the only pastor to endorse Howie from the pulpit, and several South Dakota religious leaders spoke out publicly against pulpit partisanship. ........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.alternet.org/teaparty/147771/religious_right_pushes_churches_to_openly_defy_the_law_and_campaign_for_tea_party_and_other_conservative_candidates/

[keopeli]

1. Someone trying to start a terrible trend. This would be a horrible distraction from the issues today

[hobbit709]

3. If you don't think a wannabe theocracy is an issue, then there's a problem.

[hobbit709]

2. Tax the churches.

My take on this "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion," is that by giving them an exemption on taxes, they have made a law doing so. If churches were treated like everyone else then they would not be getting special treatment of any kind, pro or con.

[burnsei sensei]

14. +1

If even one of them crosses the line, tax them all.
Then let them all change the ground rules and decided to take the separation of religion and the state seriously.
We can't accept this behavior for a second.

[Jim Lane]

15. No, treat them like everyone else

Secular nonprofit organizations that engage solely in charitable activities and that don't endorse political candidates are entitled to favorable tax treatment under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. I'm not religious myself, but I don't think that a valid nonprofit organization should lose its tax status just because it also has theological aspirations.

Of course, the church described in the OP has violated neutral rules of general applicability. It should be treated like any organization that endorses a candidate -- it loses its 501(c)(3) status, again without regard to whether it's religious or not.

[jaxx]

4. Just think of all the taxes those churches can pay.

These things need to be watched closely and the churches made to pay when they cross the line.

[rbixby]

13. If they had to pay taxes

The overwhelming majority of them would go belly up pretty quickly, but I'm not saying that's a bad thing.

[Anakin Skywalker]

5. All the More Reason to Start Taxing These Mofos!

Grrr..... :mad:

[depakid]

6. As if the Obama administration would do anything remotely like that...

[marmar]

7. As if ANY administration would do anything like that.....not in 'Murca

[66 dmhlt]

12. At least Americans United for Separation of Church & State ...

Filed a complaint with the IRS. The AU (www.au.org) has actually had a pretty good track record taking on churches that egregiously violate and abuse their tax exempt status.

Their letter to the IRS sent in June:

http://www.au.org/media/press-releases/archives/2010/06/letter-to-irs-re-liberty.pdf

[madrchsod]

9. that will never happen as it should but....

taxing them for political endorsements is within the reasonings of the separation of church and state.

[mgc1961]

8. A clear sign of failed theology.

[The Wizard]

10. The Church is tax exempt

thus eliminating the separation Church and State.
Tax them until they bleed.

[get the red out]

11. So?

I thought that Churches were no more that Republican PACs anyway? :shrug: Vote for the corporate interest or your fat load preacher will send you to hell.

[thereismore]

16. They are pulling out all the stops. It means they are losing. nt