RCJ says quit intimidating churches
Read it all here. I'm just going to stand back.A frequent criticism of HB1215 made by its liberal opponents is that the abortion ban law is an attempt by the far right to impose its religion on everyone else. It is left to one's political view whether that critique of HB1215 is hyperbole or fact. What is more bothersome is the apparent effort to frighten religious leaders and churches from speaking out about November's referendum on the abortion law by threatening to have the IRS revoke a church's tax-exempt status.
The Internal Revenue Service shouldn't be used as a tool to stifle free speech.
While there are some restrictions on non-profit organizations against involvement in political campaigns, we don't believe that religious leaders and churches should fear taking a stand on political matters.
There's a clear difference between actively campaigning for a candidate or ballot issue and discussing politics informally or even in sermons or official statements.
and...But churches, church leaders and congregations ought to be able to speak out about the political issues of the day free from fear of government harassment.
That's freedom of speech and "free exercise" of religion. It's protected by the Constitution.
Comments
I bet they don't do it and if they do do it, it will be a backhanded "churches have rights but must play by the rules" type of editorial.
Where's Randall Beck the 1st Amendment Crusader when you need him? Inquiring minds want to know.
Waiting patiently,
Anonymous
http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article
/0,,id=154712,00.html
There is no doubt where some churches stand on specific issues. The opinion is written into their guidelines, constitutions, voted on by their synods, opined by their bishops or hierarchy, or whichever way they choose. Churches have opinions on almost every issue - from abortion to homosexuality to drug use (legal & illegal).
The IRS more than likely will not start telling churches what they can and cannot say about certain issues. They can tell churches to not advocate for certain political candidates or parties - but church issues (some of which are now in the pulic foray) are fair game.
Moreover, those who are threatening churches could be in violation of the law, depending upon who these harassers are. FYI -false reports to the IRS can land you in jail. Smoke on that info for awhile ...
No, of course not.
When Catholic bishops outright excommunicated those in the South who refused to desegregate, did the left scream?
No, of course not.
When the Catholic bishops have issued letters and directives that are pro-welfare, anti-death penalty and the like, did I hear the liberals scream that it violated the 1st Amendment?
No, of course not.
When Rev. Jesse Jackson and Rev. Al Sharpton and the like run for political office over and over, did those of the leftist bent hurl invectives against them daring to put their faith based beliefs into action?
No, of course not.
When Al Gore and Bill Clinton in the middle of their respective Presidential campaigns literally stood in pulpits of African American churches, did you hear the thud of the ACLU lawsuits hitting court tables across the United States?
No, of course not.
When faith and religion drive people to conclusions the secular left like politically (such as but not limited to anti-death penalty, pro-welfare) you will not hear a peep out of them. Those are "social justice" issues, they tend to say. That makes it AOK.
Yet when faith and religion drive people to conclusions the secular left DISlike politically (such as but not limited to anti-abortion) you will see the screams of the ACLU and the threats of a thousand lawsuits. "We have a separation of church and state" they tend to say. That the particular church's views happen to just run at odds to the secular liberals' is just a coincidence.
of course not.
or did you write something you're proud of and now you intend to use it over and over?
of course.
You need to be saved. As a non-Christian, you are, as I'm sure you're aware, doomed to burn in hell for eternity. Fire, pitchforks, red guy with horns, you know the deal. (Bob Ellis, back me up here.)
The kind people in SD (many of them anonymous commenters on this blog, myself included) are trying to save you from this fate.
Yes, we are self-righteous, but you can't spell righteous without r i g h t! I mean really, even though none of us will ever know what happens on the other side till we get to the other side, we on the RIGHT have a trusty Book that tells us all we need to know. And, whether you like it or not, it tells YOU all YOU need to know as well.
Why are you so ungrateful?
I, for one, am praying for you.
In Jesus's name,
Anonymous
And that would be totally cool. No violation whatsoever. The only restraint that pastor has to show is in stopping short of directly telling people how to vote. He literally has to go so far as to ask someone to vote a particular way. When that happens, a church becomes a partisan organization and should be taxed just like all the other partisan organizations.
The RCJ editorial distorts the issue and implicitly buys the line about the poor, oppressed church. Please.