Grassley Investigation of TV Preachers Veers Off Course, Says Americans United

[Adsos Letter]

Source: Americans United for Separation of Church and State
January 7, 2011

A Senate Finance Committee investigation into several high-profile TV ministries went badly off track when staffers recommended that Congress repeal a federal ban on partisan politicking by churches and other non-profit groups, says Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) announced in 2007 that committee staff would investigate six TV ministries that might have been abusing their non-profit status. A staff memo delivered to Grassley yesterday reports on the findings, including lack of cooperation from four of the six ministries being examined.

But the report also includes a recommendation that the Congress do away with the federal tax law ban on partisan political activity by non-profit groups.

LINK: http://www.au.org/media/press-releases/archives/2011/grassley-investigation-of-tv.html

[Ruby the Liberal]

1. I was thrilled when Grassley started this, even though I figured it would go nowhere.

Want to remove politics from the pulpit? Take away their 501(3)(c) tax haven if they want to be political.

That will shut them up.

[immoderate]

3. Yes. It is so simple. Pay to play.

--imm

[Adsos Letter]

6. Yup; I agree.

[Adsos Letter]

5. I also hoped it would be a positive move when it started...

and I never expected it to take this turn.

[Tippy]

2. Has our world gone completely crazy...This issue needs to be watched

[Adsos Letter]

7. It is crazy. The concept is so simple: melding of Church/State, politics/religion is deadly to both

and tends to produce, among other things, hypocrites and martyrs.

Both secular and religious should be able to agree on this.

[DCKit]

4. Just, please, don't ask the Supremes to weigh in on this.

We might end up with the churches running the country.

[Adsos Letter]

8. With this court? Entirely possible. I wonder if this will become an equivalent

I wonder if this will become an equivalent to Jefferson's "Firebell in the night."

[Frustratedlady]

9. I was also happy to see Grassley going after some of these preachers

playing politics from their pulpits and wondered why nothing was being reported. They have enough control over some of their parishioners' lives, why add politics to it, as well?

Why have those 4 churches been allowed to not cooperate for that long? Hoping it would go away? Four of six is a pretty high percentage of failure. Grassley should have been on top of this.

Wasn't there an investigation on C Street, or whatever letter it was...the rooms where Grassley and other Congresspersons were staying? Whatever happened to that?

This is just another portion of the Constitution the RWs want to change. It would be a horrid mistake not to separate church and state.

[Adsos Letter]

10. I have no answers for your questions; however, I fully agree

that America's system of governance needs to remain secular.