Mark your calendars! Sunday, September 28, 2008 has been declared “Pulpit Freedom Sunday”. Sponsored by the Alliance Defense Fund, the Pulpit Initiative is a bold, stick-in-the-eye movement encouraging pastors to defy the ban on political endorsements by churches.
“For so long, there has been this cloud of intimidation over the church,” ADF attorney Erik Stanley said. “It is the job of the pastors of America to debate the proper role of church in society. It’s not for the government to mandate the role of church in society.”
The IRS has mandated since 1954 that in order for churches to maintain federal tax exemption, they must not intervene in political campaigns. The ADF says that amounts to an assault on the First Amendment. Other groups, like the Americans United for Separation of Church and State, disagree, call it a “stunt” that is part of a larger goal of getting conservative candidates elected.
What is our opinion? Free speech is a constitutional right, but tax exemption is not. So, should free speech be infringed in order to qualify for tax exemption? It shouldn’t be, but currently it is. The First Amendment covers nearly all speech, but one of the primary motivations of the authors of the Constitution was to protect political speech. This appears to be the approach the ADF is taking; that is, pastors should not be prohibited from speaking freely to their congregants about an important topic…particularly if they believe the decision to vote for or against someone has religious or spiritual ramifications. It is a bold move that could have serious ramifications to the churches participating. Regardless, it will be interesting to see how the IRS responds.
Is there another way for pastors to speak their mind without jeopardizing their church’s tax exemption? Rev. Maury Davis, pastor of Cornerstone Church in Nashville, Tennessee recently caused an uproar with liberals by endorsing several local school board candidates, not from the pulpit, but on a radio talk show. Smart move by Pastor Davis. Critics can scream all they want, but he did what any other American has the right to do…speak his mind politically, on his own time, as an individual.
Bold stands are sometimes necessary. Our country’s history is full of important lines drawn in the sand. This issue may well be one of those. Stay tuned.
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Mark your calendars! Sunday, September 28, 2008 has been declared “Pulpit Freedom Sunday”. Sponsored by the Alliance Defense Fund, the Pulpit Initiative is a bold, stick-in-the-eye movement encouraging pastors to defy the ban on political endorsements by churches.
“For so long, there has been this cloud of intimidation over the church,” ADF attorney Erik Stanley said. “It is the job of the pastors of America to debate the proper role of church in society. It’s not for the government to mandate the role of church in society.”
The IRS has mandated since 1954 that in order for churches to maintain federal tax exemption, they must not intervene in political campaigns. The ADF says that amounts to an assault on the First Amendment. Other groups, like the Americans United for Separation of Church and State, disagree, call it a “stunt” that is part of a larger goal of getting conservative candidates elected.
What is our opinion? Free speech is a constitutional right, but tax exemption is not. So, should free speech be infringed in order to qualify for tax exemption? It shouldn’t be, but currently it is. The First Amendment covers nearly all speech, but one of the primary motivations of the authors of the Constitution was to protect political speech. This appears to be the approach the ADF is taking; that is, pastors should not be prohibited from speaking freely to their congregants about an important topic…particularly if they believe the decision to vote for or against someone has religious or spiritual ramifications. It is a bold move that could have serious ramifications to the churches participating. Regardless, it will be interesting to see how the IRS responds.
Is there another way for pastors to speak their mind without jeopardizing their church’s tax exemption? Rev. Maury Davis, pastor of Cornerstone Church in Nashville, Tennessee recently caused an uproar with liberals by endorsing several local school board candidates, not from the pulpit, but on a radio talk show. Smart move by Pastor Davis. Critics can scream all they want, but he did what any other American has the right to do…speak his mind politically, on his own time, as an individual.
Bold stands are sometimes necessary. Our country’s history is full of important lines drawn in the sand. This issue may well be one of those. Stay tuned.
Related posts:
Posted on September 16, 2008 by Greg McRay in Commentary, Hot Topics
Tags: 501(c)(3) IRS political campaigns