Church Politicking

According to the IRS, there is a "disturbing amount" of church politicking going on. What is so disturbing about this? Well, for one, most churches are tax-exempt organizations, and part of the tax-exempt deal is to keep your mouth shut when it comes to election-backing.

Growing up in Michigan, it was not unusual to watch the Sunday night local news and see different politicians speaking at different churches. Whether they were Jewish, Christian, atheist or agnostic, many churchese would open their pulpit to a preferred candidate a few weeks before an election.

Common violations in the 2004 elections included distributing campaign literature and lists recommending candidates, endorsing or opposing candidates from the pulpit, and inviting candidates to appear at church meetings or other social functions, according to a task force set up by the agency to investigate complaints.

Some groups blatantly violated the law by making cash campaign contributions, while the political activities of others were more vague and harder to discern, Mr. Everson said.

I can see where the IRS might have a problem with a church giving campaign contributions or passing lists recommending candidates. What I don't know, and I would like to find out, is what other actions are against the tax code. For example, can a church support or protest different proposals in state or local elections? I'd also be interested to find the ratio of "Democratic" churches to "Republican" churches investigated.

Tags: Election , Church