NEW YORK (AP) - Conservative legal advocates are recruiting pastors nationwide to defy an IRS ban on preaching about politicians, in a challenge they hope will abolish the restriction.
The Alliance Defense Fund, based in Scottsdale, Ariz., will ask the clergy to deliver a sermon about specific candidates Sept. 28. If the action triggers an IRS investigation, the legal group will sue to overturn the federal rules, which were enacted in 1954.
Under the IRS code, churches can distribute voter guides, run voter registration drives, hold forums on public policy and invite politicians to speak at their congregations.
However, they cannot endorse a candidate, and their political activity cannot be biased for or against a candidate, directly or indirectly.
The Alliance Defense Fund said Friday that the regulations amount to an unconstitutional limit on free speech and government intrusion into religion.
"It certainly does have a chilling effect," said Mike Johnson, senior counsel for the fund. "I think that there is a lot of fear and intimidation and disinformation about the parameters that do exist."
Johnson said about 100 pastors have expressed interest in participating so far.
The IRS has stepped up monitoring of nonprofit political activity during the 2008 election. Punishments can range from a financial penalty to loss of tax-exempt status.
IRS investigations are confidential and the agency does not discuss the cases.
However, the United Church of Christ, which counts Sen. Barack Obama as a member, has said that it is under IRS review because of a speech given by the Democratic presidential candidate at the denomination's national meeting last year.
Americans United for Separation of Church and State, an advocacy group in Washington, monitors church political activity and consistently files complaints with the IRS. They said Friday that they will notify the agency of any pastor who participates in the ADF campaign.
Some religious groups support keeping politics out of the pulpit.
J. Brent Walker, executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty in Washington, which advocates for religious freedom, said churches should be involved in public issues, but partisan activity can "compromise the essential calling to spread the Gospel."
"The church can't raise prophetic fist at a candidate or at a party," Walker said, "when it's locked up in a tight bear hug with that candidate or party."
Copyright 2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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Since the church is in bed with there master. They applied for and got 501(c)3 status they have change what they are please read 508 of title 26. They have made a contract with the enemy. So, why now are they complaining. Because of that contract there is no separation of church and state. Remember they the churches have asked them the IRS to be of that 501(C)3 statutes.
Bravo! You would think the U.S was communist China, where they can't share or teach to gospel to some one under 18! This law is so unconsitutional, and only help the unaccountable poli-tics to remain unchallenged and unaccountable.
It is the pastors obligation to make the church members under his charge informed about the issues and informed about the candidates that stand for or against the truth and authority of scripture. It is the right to free speech and the "Infernal" Revenue Service has no right to regulate free speech from our pulpits.
Hi, JHS. What has blown up in this country is the desire for the truth by the media. Having lived in a Muslim country myself (went to a school for missionary kids in one) and in the "Christian city in the southern Philippines" where the bike bombs were going off, I can tell you the terrorists only want one thing. They want western culture gone...period. It is a hate infused misdoctrine by the extreamists. It doesn't matter if you like Bush or hate him. It doesn't matter how you live or who you are. Just the way you posted would make you an enemy because of the democracy overtones in it. To them, you're just as bad as Bush if you're not one of them.
It is unfortunate that you buy into the whole media lie about what's really going on. Once you get it through your brain that they want you dead simply for not being one of them...then you may understand why we are doing what we are doing overseas. It truely is fight them there or fight them here in the USA. They want us dead because we dare to think as we choose. Plain and simple.
Since the death of James Kennedy and Falwell, and other right wingers of the you can only be a christian if your a republican preachers, The right wing can see the hand writing on the wall after their wonderful neocon Bush is blowing up in their face, and they know theywill lose big in november. this is going tobe good
Now now jar1961. Govenment existed long before the Kings.
Our forefathers saw the same flaw with the 'king' concept that God pointed out and founded a democratic republic which had no king. Our country was to be a country based on what's right and not on the word of some one human. Our founding fathers had quite a bit to say about how we should look to God for guidance in many of our founding documents. Our original laws were based on those 10 commandments which had to do with inter-human relationships (thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal...).
The Jewish nation was ruled by Levitical law. They wanted to add opinion to their society and look where it got them! Jesus is our King. We need no other. If I want/need an opinion, His works just fine.
For the Christians on this board.. Ya know.. the birth of government is not the fault of the unbelieving world...it is the fault of God's people.... And as God taught, in seeking a king we would lament... 1 Sam CHapter 1.. which is why I always say... we get the government we deserve...
Daniel Paul said: "Our government became dependent on the money (political greed) and it never ended."
Oh like what 16K in flowers!! Or all the first class plane rides they take. Ridiculous! If politicians would actually get paid more on the budget of an average american and quit wasting our tax money we might not be in so much debt!
http://sayanythingblog.com/entry/pelosi_spends_16000_on_flowers_for_her_office/
As an after thought...are the ACLU and Planned Parenthood 501(c)3 organizations?
For those who don't remember their history lessons from WW II, income tax was a short term solution to fund the war and was to be ended at the ending of the war. It is not constitutional. Our government became dependent on the money (political greed) and it never ended. If the government played by it's own rules the IRS wouldn't be an issue.
Still, our church is very clear about paying what taxes you owe. One of the principles preached at our church is if you want to know where a persons heart is just look at their check book. Look at how they do their taxes. Christians render onto Ceasar what is Ceasar's and to God that which is Gods. Maybe this isn't normal for a megachurch.
Also, our books at this point have our minstries (programs which help and serve people) to be over budget. In short, we would need to take in WAY more money to show a profit of some kind.
Jar1961..."not participate in, or intervene in (including the publishing or distributing of statements), any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office." I believe that's what I said!
Our church actually formed as a corporation to avoid some of these issues and to give us more freedoms for some of our ministries. It was a choice on our part. Still, the purpose of the Church is to stand for what is right. There is no area of our society which needs that more than politics! Many cases that have gone to court have been ruled in favor of the church. My statements were based on what the court has already determined.
Just FYI, our pastor was a lawyer and then he repented. We find that way more funny than he does! He has investigated this quite a bit from a legal stand point. In short, pastors may preach whatever the wish provided it does not support a particular candidate.
Most Churches don't make enough to worry about taxes in the first place. If they do their books honestly, I think they do, I am sure that the profit is very small, if there even is one.
this may not be true for large churches, but they could afford the taxation, which is illegal any way.
Where does the Constitution give gov the power the IRS has to control ANY speech? Do tax free foundations have the same rules applied to them? We know many of them support causes that are UN-US American.
Many good comments here!
What is Political????
Churches must stick to VALUES which are derived from our Morals. Churches must also stick to Faith issues.
You see it isn't Churches that have become Political, it is the Politicians who have become IMMORAL!!! We must reject any IMMORAL teaching by the Government like Slavery, Like Abortion, like gay marriage, like Euthanasia, like cloning, etc.
The government has lost its Moral compass because the Government doesn't put God first.
RECCE1: And all God's people said: AMEN!!!!!!
It's time churches gave up their Faustian deal with the Infernal Retribution Sackers by giving up their 501c3 status. Until they do so they won't win a lawsuit on the issue because they've entered into a business contract with the IRS. Of course giving up their status would create a panic with politicians who would try to find ways to tax churches while still excluding them from speaking out in the public square.
I find the restrictions to be un-American as it was pastors who encouraged patriots to oppose British oppression, abolitionists to oppose slavery, and civil rights marchers to end segregation. Today such wouldn't be allowed. I won’t go into the issue that some churches fear donations might be lost if without tax exemptions other than to say if mammon is their goal then they’re not trusting God.
However, take the Bob Jones University ruling as an example of what can happen. While Bob Jones University was in error it's its beliefs on interracial marriage and therefore on interracial dating, the IRS ruling was that the university wasn’t complying with accepted societal beliefs. That could be interpreted to mean any belief the government found offensive such as teaching against homosexuality or abortion, which likely will happen under Pres. Obama and a Democratic controlled Congress.
Many Americans misunderstand the Constitution; particularly it would seem many politicians at the highest levels. The Constitution does several things. It sets up our form of government, a democratic constitutional republic, not a democracy; sets up qualifications for office, specifically enumerates the powers of the Federal government while limiting its the scope, and delineates our government as one of federalism; a system in which sovereignty is divided between a central and state governments such that the power to govern is shared between the national and state governments, although this has been seriously eroded with the 1824 supreme Court decision in the case of Gibbons v. Ogden which has resulted in the Commerce Clause being used as a wedge to get around the Enumerated Powers Clause and the 9th and 10th amendments and by the Civil War in which President Lincoln seriously violated the Constitution but saved the Union.
While many claim the concept of separation of church and state limits people of faith in the public square, nothing could be further from the truth. The First Amendment prohibits the Federal government from interfering in or establishing a religion, not prohibiting citizens from expressing their religious view in the public square or from becoming involved in the government. People of faith have as much rights in the public square as any other citizens and that can be backed up by the 9th and 10th Amendments to the Constitution, not that any of the Bill of Rights are intact anymore save the Third, so far.
"I've been saying for years that churches should voluntarily give up their tax exemption to say what they want and pay taxes like other organizations. While churches shouldn't be about making a profit (that is definitely anti-Biblical) they can give that non-profit status up and maintain some integrity."
This is a contradiction. If churches surrender to the unconstitutional provision of the tax code that silences them and "give up" tax emempt status, those churches will have to become profit-seeking commercial enterprises in order to keep their doors open.
I don't know when so many people decided to be fooled into thinking that the government has a right to even tax churches in the first place. Until 1954, churches and pastors said what they pleased. It was only in 1954, out of an act of political revenge, that churches suddenly lost freedom that they always had!
Why do so many people jump to the conclusion that the "solution" is for churches to give up fundamental constitutional rights in order to satisfy a portion of the IRS code that is unconstitutional in the first place?
the source of our treasures is not in the government but in our faith.
I agree. The problem though is that left wing radical churches routinely violate this without consequence but conservative churches are always held under greater scrutiny.
I am a conservative Christian and have always been against the tax exemption. I feel that churches should not make a deal with the dvil to protect their money. The direct result will be that only the most obedient and passionate churches will remain while those who hold to false and weak doctrines will die off.
clergy who use their tax-exempt status to endorse candidates (and lead followers to believe that everyone BUT who the church says is unfit for office) are abusing their status and SHOULD be investigated. plain and simple in the eyes of this nation's laws.
The IRS is an unconstitutional arm of the Socialist Republic of America and NEEDS to be abolished. If churches didn't care much for their tax-exempt status, they could go ahead and say whatever they wanted!!! As it is, they should say what they want anyway. There's not ONE group in this nation that can tell a minister of the Gospel what to preach. We ought to obey God, rather than men!!!!
HISTORY OF THE TAX ERXEMPTION:
History of the 501(c)(3) Political Activity Prohibition
Senator Lyndon Baines Johnson Amendment
Religious, charitable, educational and scientific organizations have been tax-exempt since 1913, although no political activity parameters were included in the first exemption statues. In 1954, however, Senator Lyndon Baines Johnson (D-TX) added the "express prohibition" on political campaign activity—without the benefit of hearings, testimony, or comment from affected organizations during Senate floor debate on the Internal Revenue Code. The amendment prohibits 501(c)(3) organizations from "participat[ing] in, or intervening in any political campaign on behalf of any candidate for public office." The law was eventually applied to churches and now includes all 501(c)(3) organizations.
The genesis of Johnson's desire to reduce 501(c)(3) participation in elections reportedly stems from the great effect nonprofits had in campaigning against him, "by producing Red-baiting radio shows, television programs and millions of pieces of literature”; however, committee records demonstrate a general congressional mood towards increased regulation of nonprofit speech.
In 1952, the House formed the House Select Committee to Investigate Tax-Exempt Foundations and Comparable Organizations, which was chaired by Representative Eugene E. Cox (R-GA) (Cox Committee). The Cox Committee was formed to determine "whether foundations have been infiltrated by communists, as well as whether tax-exempt groups are using their money for stated purposes and are not endangering our existing capitalistic structure."
The Cox Committee determined that foundations had not been directly involved in subversion, but noted that they were in fact vulnerable to such influence. Accordingly, the committee recommended that foundations provide more information to the IRS as part of their annual returns.
The House created a second Special Committee to Investigate Tax-Exempt Foundations and Comparable Organizations. The committee was directed to conduct a full and complete investigation of educational and philanthropic foundations and other comparable tax-exempt organizations to determine if any foundations or organizations were using their resources for purposes other than the purposes for which they were established.
The committee found that there was a "rapidly increasing birth rate of foundations" and went on to observe that there was little implementation of their responsibility to the general welfare. The committee concluded that foundations administer their resources with such freedom that they bordered at times on irresponsibility. The committee further observed that the current laws did not compel compliance.
unfortunately the way our legal system works today this may be our only way of overturning a stupid law. The Lord taught that we need to be innocent as doves and shrewd as serpents. If we leave it in the hands of legislators it will never get done.
This may surprise some folks who have read my posts for a while, but for the most part I agree with jar1961 on this one. I've been saying for years that churches should voluntarily give up their tax exemption to say what they want and pay taxes like other organizations. While churches shouldn't be about making a profit (that is definitely anti-Biblical) they can give that non-profit status up and maintain some integrity.
jar1961
I'm glad to see that someone is putting their money where their mouth is. You have defended your arguments very well.
Appearently the church chose being non-profit over having the absolute freedom to preach.
Perhaps the political influence that was gained at the time was considered favorable to all interests. And, realistically, if anyone is being persuaded by a church leader in the way they should vote, then they are not being a responsible voter.
Individually, Christians need to be able to stand for Christ. In the same sense we should also be responsible to vote based upon our own individual convictions.
Nevertheless, there is no justification for compromising the freedom to preach the Word of God or be a vessel of the Holy Spirit in prophecy.
What the IRS Tax Exemption Law Requires:
Couched somewhere between these two extremes is § 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, which places two restrictions on the political speech and activities of tax-exempt organizations.8 The first is a more limited restriction mandating that "no substantial part of [a 501(c)(3) organization's] activities" may consist of "carrying on propaganda, or otherwise attempting, to influence legislation."9 The second restriction mandates that 501(c)(3) organizations may "not participate in, or intervene in (including the publishing or distributing of statements), any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office."10 These two restrictions have caused great concern to parties on both sides of the issue-some arguing that the restrictions do not go far enough to separate churches from the political arena and others arguing that these restrictions are an unconstitutional burden on religion.
You are all missing the point. A non profit under the IRS requirements for a tax exemption is prohibited by tax law from making or taking any position against or for a candidate. Daniel Paul Im sorry but you are incorrect. Before any of you continue this dialogue you must research what the tax exemption is. Pastors dont speak for or against candidates because they are prohibited by law. When I say a church should be "for profit" I simply mean that if they opt out of the tax exemption they would be "for profit" required to pay taxes and render unto C easer and be free to preach as they wish
jar1961,
What you seem to forget is the church is the body of Christ that hold jobs and pay taxes. As far as for profit, look at the example jesus made of the money changers in His Fathers house. Look at the Biblical model before you comment.
Now, jar1961... Separation of Church and State prohibits making any law that interfers with the 'free exercise there of". It isn't the IRS's place to be telling pastors what they can and cannot preach.
With that said, it's already been determined that the only limit on a Pastor is he cannot publically endorse a candidate. He can preach on all the issues he wants. If the IRS is interferring with that then they are acting like the KGB and we have no use for that in our country.
Our authority when it comes to the USA is our Consitution. It IS the authority in our country. It proclaims freedom of speach and freedom of religion. Why are you against the enforcement of the constitution? Americans are responsible for obeying and defending the Constitution. For the Church to not speak up is disobeying our authority both on earth and in heaven.
I agree.. I wasnt clear.. What I was saying is that the IRS tax Exemption is clear in what restrictions are placed on it....Jesus said render unto Ceaser what is Ceasers.. the Christian church in AMerica doesnt want to render to Cesear so it is silenced by the tax exemption. The fix is simple... churches need to be FOR PROFIT... then Satan will no longer have a contract with the church of AMerica...
CHurches dont speak out because they willingly enter into an unholy covenant..
to Jar "I disagree with this effort. Scripture x\calls us to obey authority"
Scripture tells us to obey GODs authority...
it's time that the Church got involved with the affairs of this nation. We are living in the last days, and this nation is headed for disaster. the Church must declare the Word of God to a nation that is attempting to outlaw God.
If we as a nation fail to return to God in repentance, It will mean the end of America as we know it today. God help us, And may God give the Church a Spiritual back bone to declare the Truth once again.
I disagree with this effort. Scripture x\calls us to obey authority. If a church wishes to have the tax exemption there are rules tied to accepting it. I have often said that the American chuirch has made a pact with the devil in taking the tax exemption. If they wish not to be constrained then they need not take the tax exemption. The result would be powerful preaching and the true church would shine.