Religious Constitutional Suicide Pact
On Sunday September 28, 2008, 33 evangelical Protestant pastors, including the vice presidential candidate on the American Independent Party ticket, in 22 states launched a “pulpit initiative” in hopes of influencing the presidential election. The initiative was conceived by Arizona based Alliance Defense Fund which hoped to overturn the Internal Revenue Code’s ban on political endorsements by tax-exempt organizations, including churches. The pastors argued that the ban ─ originally sponsored by then-Texas Sen. Lyndon Johnson in 1954 ─violates the clergy’s first amendment rights to both free speech and free expression of religion. The pastors endorsed Sen. John McCain for president hoping the IRS will try and revoke their tax exempt status so they can challenge the law all the way to the Supreme Court. They believe the court’s conservative justices will hold the ban on political endorsements unconstitutional.
The pastors and their lawyers are wrong on their history and the law. The Founding Fathers were clear that America’s notion of religious liberty intended to prohibit the state from dictating the content of religious convictions. Preachers may preach on God and country, on war and peace, but they must not endorse candidates for political office if they want to retain their tax exempt status. As Christ enjoined: “Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s.” Elsewhere in the Bible Jesus said “My kingdom is not of this world,” an example his evangelical pastors should follow. Jesus and the Founding Fathers saw the value in the separation of church and state which prevents the suppression of religion by the state and ensures that our civil institutions do not favor one faith over another.
Under today’s Constitution and tax code, churches that have accepted the exemption also have accepted the prohibition against endorsements, and must faithfully abide by them. I support organizations like Americans United for Separation of Church and State that have made it their mission to report churches that preach politics to the I.R.S. The Alliance Defense Fund and its lawyers should be prosecuted and indicted by the I.R.S.’s Office of Professional Responsibility for inducing churches to engage in conduct designed to violate federal tax law in a direct and blatant manner.
The concept of separation of church and state as we know it will be in tatters if preachers with tax exempt status start preaching and advocating their political beliefs at taxpayer expense.
The pastors and their lawyers are wrong on their history and the law. The Founding Fathers were clear that America’s notion of religious liberty intended to prohibit the state from dictating the content of religious convictions. Preachers may preach on God and country, on war and peace, but they must not endorse candidates for political office if they want to retain their tax exempt status. As Christ enjoined: “Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s.” Elsewhere in the Bible Jesus said “My kingdom is not of this world,” an example his evangelical pastors should follow. Jesus and the Founding Fathers saw the value in the separation of church and state which prevents the suppression of religion by the state and ensures that our civil institutions do not favor one faith over another.
Under today’s Constitution and tax code, churches that have accepted the exemption also have accepted the prohibition against endorsements, and must faithfully abide by them. I support organizations like Americans United for Separation of Church and State that have made it their mission to report churches that preach politics to the I.R.S. The Alliance Defense Fund and its lawyers should be prosecuted and indicted by the I.R.S.’s Office of Professional Responsibility for inducing churches to engage in conduct designed to violate federal tax law in a direct and blatant manner.
The concept of separation of church and state as we know it will be in tatters if preachers with tax exempt status start preaching and advocating their political beliefs at taxpayer expense.
posted by Peter de Krassel's Custom Maid Politics at 1:50 AM
2 Comments:
Even worse...the religious people are in charge of the government, and may continue to be. John McCain has made it clear that if he is elected he will help Israel attack Iran. See the future consequences of this in the fascinating new historical novel “Clash of the Gods” which is now on www.amazon.com and www.clashofthegods.com. Sarah Palin, of course, is an Evangelical who thinks we have to destroy all the ‘infidels’ in the Middle East to make way for the Second Coming.
I'm a Christian, and I think it's bad religion and bad politics to mix the two. The Apostle Paul said as much in this letter to Timothy in the metaphor "No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs"
In point of fact, Most of Jesus' arguments were with sanctimonious religious types who tried to impose their interpretation of God's will on others. Anyone who tries to govern from the pulpit should be barred from preaching.
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