Political Animal
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First up from the God Machine this week is a closer look at federal tax law, as it relates to tax-exempt religious ministries. It’s pretty clear — houses of worship may not legally intervene in political campaigns, either in support of or opposition to a candidate or a party. Those who violate the law run the risk of losing their tax-exempt status.
The Alliance Defense Fund, a prominent far-right legal-advocacy group, has been working for years on a plan to convince conservative Christian pastors to break the law, on purpose, invite IRS punishment, and then take the whole issue to court in order to challenge the law itself.
The stunt is called “Pulpit Freedom Sunday,” and it was last weekend.
The sermons, on what is called Pulpit Freedom Sunday, essentially represent a form of biblical bait, an effort by some churches to goad the Internal Revenue Service into court battles over the divide between religion and politics.
The Alliance Defense Fund, a nonprofit legal defense group whose founders include James Dobson, the founder of Focus on the Family, sponsors the annual event, which started with 33 pastors in 2008. This year, Glenn Beck has been promoting it, calling for 1,000 religious leaders to sign on and generating additional interest at the beginning of a presidential election cycle.
“There should be no government intrusion in the pulpit,” said the Rev. James Garlow, senior pastor at Skyline Church in La Mesa, Calif., who led preachers in the battle to pass California’s Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriage. “The freedom of speech and the freedom of religion promised under the First Amendment means pastors have full authority to say what they want to say.”
Mr. Garlow said he planned to inveigh against same-sex marriage, abortion and other touchstone issues that social conservatives oppose, and some ministers may be ready to encourage parishioners to vote only for those candidates who adhere to the same views or values.
It’s worth clarifying a few things. First, religious leaders who want to use their pulpits to preach for or against “same-sex marriage, abortion and other touchstone issues” are already free to do so. There are no legal limits, under tax law or anything else. Houses of worship aren’t defying a law when their actions are already legal.
Second, the trouble starts when pastors start telling parishioners who to vote for, based on candidates’ positions on those touchstone issues.
At first blush, the First Amendment defense may sound compelling. If a church wants to endorse a candidate, it’s the church’s business, right? If congregations don’t like it, they can go to another church. If a pastor passes the collection plate for Rick Perry during Sunday services, church members can contribute or not contribute. This isn’t, the argument goes, any of the government’s business.
But this falls apart pretty quickly. Tax law doesn’t stifle free speech; it applies conditions to tax exemptions.
Non-profit organizations receive a tax exemption because their work is charitable, educational or religious. But the benefit comes with conditions, most notably a requirement that tax-exempt organizations refrain from involvement in partisan politics. Since tax-exempt groups are supposed to work for the public good, not spend their time and money trying to elect or defeat candidates, it’s hardly unreasonable.
If the rule were eliminated, there’d be a new loophole in campaign finance law — people could donate to a church’s partisan political efforts and the contribution would be tax deductible.
But what if some ministries believe partisan political work is absolutely necessary? They’re in luck — they have every legal right to give up their tax exemption and create an explicitly partisan organization, such as a PAC. Current law simply limits groups from being both tax-exempt ministries and engaging in partisan politics.
ADF, meanwhile, not only wants to let ministries have it both ways, it also wants these ministries to take a huge risk with no reward — break the law, help partisan candidates, and risk IRS penalty. Why? Because the Alliance Defense Fund, a multimillion-dollar right-wing legal consortium, has a culture-war experiment it’s anxious to try out.
Churches that volunteer as religious right guinea pigs are making a mistake.
Also from the God Machine this week:
* Dahlia Lithwick has a great piece on a fascinating Supreme Court case, trying to balance the need to prevent discrimination and protecting religious liberty.
* The Roman Catholic Church this week opened its first new seminary in Castro’s Cuba in a half-century. (thanks to R.P. for the tip)
* And Matthew Avery Sutton takes a look at followers of Christian apocalypticism, who keep wondering whether President Obama, like FDR, is the antichrist.
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c u n d gulag on October 08, 2011 9:10 AM:
It's a sweet racket they've got there!
We should tax each and every religious organization - period!
Then there's be less money for these religious
"leaders" to use to prosilitize.
Maybe if we taxed the Shephard, we'd have smarter sheep!
If there really was a God, He/She/It wouldn't allow religion.
And the first schmuck to start talking about starting one would be smitten by a blot of lightening, a meteorite, or a shanked golfball off a 1-iron.
kevo on October 08, 2011 9:26 AM:
Remember. religion is but a smile on a dog!
Political participation from the pulpit needs to be taxed as it represents a worldly willingness around which no house of worship should ever be organized!
When we get to the point of asking WWJVF we've lost sight of his purpose within our Christian liturgy. -Kevo
AndThenThere'sThat on October 08, 2011 9:27 AM:
So now that this little experiment has been going on for some time (over a year now at least?), how's it going? Has the IRS gotten involved at all? Are there rumblings of court action? Steve, you've posted about this many times and most of us frequent visitors are familiar with the "plan", but I've never heard any news beyond the goading-the-IRS stage.
Captcha; "pay ernspei"
so true o' wise and omniscient Captcha
dj spellchecka on October 08, 2011 9:56 AM:
@AndThenThere'sThat
also from the nyt article
...if history is any indication, the I.R.S. may continue to steer clear of the taunts.
None of the churches involved in previous pulpit Sunday events have received anything beyond a form letter from the I.R.S. thanking them for the tapes, Mr. Stanley said. “They haven’t done anything to clarify what the law is and what pastors can and can’t say,“ he said.
dj spellchecka on October 08, 2011 9:58 AM:
in other twig news...
Pastor has deacons assault gay son at church
A gay Tennessee couple allege that they were beaten as they tried to attend services at Grace Fellowship Church in Fruitland — and that the assault was prompted by the father of one of them, who happens to be church’s pastor.
Gibson County resident Jerry Pittman Jr. recalled the incident to local news channel WBBJ: “I went over to take the keys out of the ignition and all the sudden I hear someone say ‘sic ’em!’”
Pittman said his father, Pastor Jerry Pittman, instigated the attack.
“My uncle and two other deacons came over to the car per my dad’s request. My uncle smashed me in the door as the other deacon knocked my boyfriend back so he couldn’t help me, punching him in his face and his chest. The other deacon came and hit me through my car window in my back,” the younger Pittman said.
No bystanders came to their aid while one of the deacons yelled antigay slurs, according to Pittman. He said the deacon yelled derogatory homosexual slurs, even after officers arrived. He said the officers never intervened to stop the deacons from yelling the slurs.
Pittman said neither he nor Lee were allowed to press charges while at the church.
Charges were filed against deacons Billy Sims, Eugene McCoy, and Patrick Flatt as well as Jerry Pittman Sr.
All parties are due in court October 4.
http://www.wbbjtv.com/news/local/Assault-Complaints-Filed-after-Incident-at-Church-130746713.html
martin on October 08, 2011 10:01 AM:
Bumper sticker version for the ADF to understand: Tax Exemption is a Privilege, Not a Right
discipline suplicyc Mr Captcha warns.
PQuincy on October 08, 2011 10:03 AM:
"...people could donate to a church's partisan political efforts and the contribution would be tax deductible."
Think, though, how awesome it could be. Mr. Trump could found the "First Church of Donald, Savior", and fund his next political campaign entirely tax-exemptly!
dj spellchecka on October 08, 2011 10:07 AM:
if anyone is interested, terry gross interviewed c. peter wagner about the new apostolic reformation, a christian movement that seeks to take dominion over politics, business and culture in preparation for the end times and jesus' return.
full audio, full transcript and text of interview highlights at the link
http://www.npr.org/2011/10/03/140946482/apostolic-leader-weighs-religions-role-in-politics
Texas Aggie on October 08, 2011 10:28 AM:
rapture of true saints to heaven,
The End Timers have gotten it wrong. It isn't the saints that will be raptured to heaven, but rather the evil doers who will be raptured to hell. The saints left behind will be those people working to put the world back in order, the Greens, the Peacemakers, the Advocates for the Poor, etc. The evil doers that go to their reward will be those who have indulged in discrimination, who have supported military attacks on civilians, who have oppressed the poor, who have denied basic care to people who otherwise can't afford it, etc.
Steve makes the point that ministers are perfectly capable and within the law if they indulge in politics, but that they then lose their tax exemptions. That is something that has been mentioned ad nauseum.
If you want to have a fuller history of what has been going on in the separation of politics and church, check out the web page for Americans United for the Separation of Church and State.
Steve on October 08, 2011 10:35 AM:
Steve: I read your column daily. And I agree with 100% of what you say. Still I feel you should have noted in your column that today is Yom Kippur.
Thank you
dj spellchecka on October 08, 2011 11:03 AM:
A Texas pastor introduced Rick Perry at a major conference of Christian conservatives on Friday as “a genuine follower of Jesus Christ” and then walked outside and attacked Mitt Romney’s religion, calling the Mormon Church a cult and stating that Mr. Romney “is not a Christian.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/08/us/politics/prominent-pastor-calls-romneys-church-a-cult.html?_r=1
zandru on October 08, 2011 11:03 AM:
Freedom of Religion Act
I think we're in agreement that the time has come. I propose a bill to strip tax-exempt status from all churches. Period. Then the pastors, rabbis, monsiegnors, whatever can say whatever they want. Call it the "Freedom of Religion Act." Branding is everything.
If a church wants to run a separate non-profit beneficial organization, that's fine - if it meets current IRS regs for tax exempt status, then it is. But its operations need to be separate from the church itself and fully documented and subject to audit.
But no more tax-exempt churches. Even the Flying Spaghetti Gawd.
Anonymous on October 08, 2011 11:59 AM:
“There should be no government intrusion in the pulpit,” said the Rev. James Garlow, senior pastor at Skyline Church in La Mesa, Calif., who led preachers in the battle to pass California’s Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriage. “The freedom of speech and the freedom of religion promised under the First Amendment means pastors have full authority to say what they want to say.”
I agree wholeheartedly. And churches should be taxed.
beb on October 08, 2011 12:38 PM:
As someone driven into atheism from a childhood of church attendance I'm all for abolishing the tax-exemption for religion. They're a business llike everyone else. Make 'em pay.
Hannah on October 08, 2011 1:14 PM:
The stunt is called “Pulpit Freedom Sunday,” and it was last weekend.
~~~
That's curious.
Last Sunday was actually "St. Francis of Assisi Sunday" and St. Francis is who my pastor preached about. Yes, that St. Francis, who gave away all of his possessions (after first living a decadent life that didn't fulfill him). St. Francis' "free pulpit" was literally for the birds. And I don't think he told them who to vote for.
chi res on October 08, 2011 6:45 PM:
Walk into most any African-American church on the Sunday before election day. If you don't hear the pastor telling congregants to vote for Democrats, you've found the exception.
Doug on October 08, 2011 7:18 PM:
Tax 'em all and let them say whatever they want.
captcha: aotsdic neurosis,
I can certainly agree with the last...
The Oracle on October 08, 2011 9:24 PM:
"...houses of worship may not legally intervene in political campaigns, either in support of or opposition to a candidate or a party."
So, with Citizens United and the creation of shadowy, secretly-funded SuperPacs, what is going to stop these conservative-activist churches and religious organizations from secretly sending donations to these SuperPacs? I believe even these SuperPacs eventually have to tell the IRS who and how much was donated, but wouldn't this trigger exactly what these radical right-wing religious groups and individuals are seeking?