IRS Asked If Churches Can Pray for Bush Re-Election

CNSNEWS.com ^ | 10/04/04 | Susan Jones

[kattracks]

(CNSNews.com) - Is it legal for churches to pray for the re-election of President George W. Bush during their services?

The Christian Defense Coalition says it is seeking "clarification" from the Internal Revenue Service, before coalition members launch a two-week prayer tour in Pennsylvania and Ohio.

"As Christians, we are praying that God grant President Bush four more years because of his support for the sanctity of human life, his strong commitment to the protection of traditional marriage and his stance on religious freedom and liberty in the public square," said the Rev. Patrick J. Mahoney, director of the Christian Defense Coalition.

"It is clear that the public policies of the president are more in line with historic Christianity then those of Senator Kerry. It is our hope that the IRS will not crush religious freedom by attempting to censor and control how churches feel compelled to pray," Mahoney said in a press release.

The American Center for Law and Justice has written to the IRS on behalf of the Christian Defense Coalition, explaining that Mahoney plans to "offer prayer during the evening services in the churches he visits that God grants President Bush four more years as president and that Sen. Kerry does not become president."

Americans United for Separation of Church and States, a group that monitors politics from the pulpit, says churches, like all tax-exempt organizations, "absolutely prohibited from supporting or opposing candidates for elected public office."

Americans United says churches that support or oppose a candidate may face an IRS audit, fines and loss of tax-exempt status.

[kattracks]

Americans United for Separation of Church and States, a group that monitors politics from the pulpit, says churches, like all tax-exempt organizations, "absolutely prohibited from supporting or opposing candidates for elected public office."

Unless it's a black church supporting Kerry.

[Leo Carpathian]

Or any church hosting RATS candidates or mouthpieces. Can we get some investigation and action on applying the rules across the board?

[TheGeezer]

Can our government regulate public prayer?

Woof.

[KidGlock]

Interesting article

---

RELIGIOUS FREEDOM



Did John Edwards cross the IRS line when he used church pulpit to lay out Kerry-Edwards political platform?



Orlando, FL – The front page of the Orlando Sentinel reported that Senator John Edwards spoke this past Sunday (July 19) from the pulpit of St. Mark AME Church in Orlando, telling the mostly black congregation what life would be like if the Kerry-Edwards ticket were elected to the White House. No one complained about whether the church crossed the line. But when Dr. Jerry Falwell expressed his personal opinion about supporting President George W. Bush in a non-church publication, the liberal group known as the Americans United for Separation of Church and State cried foul.



It appears that some people have two rulebooks, one for liberal and one for conservative politics. The fact is history does not support the baseless threats hurled against conservative churches. Since 1934, when the lobbying restriction was added to the Internal Revenue Code (“IRC”), not one church has ever lost its tax-exempt status.



Since 1954, when the political endorsement/opposition prohibition was added, only one church has ever lost its IRS letter ruling, but even that church did not lose its tax-exempt status. That case involved the Church at Pierce Creek in New York, which placed full-page ads in USA Today and the Washington Times opposing then-Governor Bill Clinton for President. The ads were sponsored by the Church and donations were solicited. The IRS revoked the Church’s letter ruling, but not its tax-exempt status. The Church sued, and the court ruled that churches are tax exempt without an IRS letter ruling. The Court noted that “because of the unique treatment churches receive under the Internal Revenue Code, the impact of the revocation is likely to be more symbolic than substantial.” Not even this Church lost its tax-exempt status, and not one donor was affected by this incident.



Pastors can preach on biblical, moral and social issues, such as traditional marriage and abortion, can urge the congregation to register and vote, can overview the positions of the candidates, and may personally endorse candidates. Churches may distribute nonpartisan voter guides, register voters, provide transportation to the polls, hold candidate forums, and introduce visiting candidates.



Mathew D. Staver, President and General Counsel of Liberty Counsel, who has written many articles and two books on political activity of nonprofit organizations, stated: “Pastors should throw away their muzzles and replace them with megaphones. It is far more likely to be struck by lightening twice than for churches to lose their tax-exempt status over political issues."



What can a church legally do with regard to political speech? Resources are available at Liberty Council's web site.

http://www.commongoode.homestead.com/Religion/EdwardsPoliticalSpeechInChurch.html

[kittymyrib]

What was Kerry doing in the pulpit yesterday with Jesse Jackson (in Ohio, I believe)? I'm sure the Americans United for the Separation of Church and State will be filing a complaint this morning.

[frog_jerk_2004]

Can Churches pray for the dissolving of the IRS?

[chris1]

I really don't understand why we don't hammer away at liberal politicans who campaign in Black Churches. If GWB did what liberals typically do, these people would have coroneries.

[Tweaker]

A clue for Patrick J. Mahoney.

If you feel the need to ask permission from the government to pray about anything then you should be pickin cotton in Mississippi.

[KidGlock]

Here is the San Francisco Chronicle regarding Edwards in the Democratic primary:

Edwards built a formidable campaign organization that sent thousands of volunteers knocking on doors. He campaigned in South Carolina for more than a year, and his aides convinced more 100 ministers of black churches to endorse him from the pulpit on Sunday.

"Kerry didn't have an organization," said Edwin Givens, Edwards' statewide church coordinator. "He didn't have a base in the black church, which is the most important political institution in the black community."

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/02/04/MNG984OIGK1.DTL

[steplock]

I PRAY that no church asked the irs for permission to do anything!

That would be done ONLY by a 'church' of man (?) NOT by a Church of G_d!

[Eagle Eye]

This is brilliant!

How can the IRS win this one?

[JudyinCanada]

I just heard on the news out of Buffalo this morning that Kerry and The Reverend Jackson were speaking in black churches somewhere today.

The hypocrisy is unbelievable.

[MarcoPolo]

Just abolish the IRS, and this problem is SOLVED. Churches can espouse whatever candidate they want to under the Bill of Rights, and NO government entity has the right to tell them otherwise.

[Rock N Jones]

Last Sunday while in church I bowed my head in silence and prayed for the reelection of President Bush. Then I leaned over and whispered to my wife that I just prayed for the reelection of President Bush. Now I pray that I did not break any Federal laws.

[dasboot]

Methinks Mahoney is being dumb like a fox, here.

[Chaguito]

Simple. The IRS will do what it always does, namely, quote an unintelligible IRS regulation without comment. And the democrats will continue to gain endorsements in black churches.

[Guenevere]

#16...that would be consistent :)

[xzins]

Yes, a church can pray for anything they wish. It is a religious act and no governmental body can enforce anything that "prevents the free exercise thereof."

In fact, a preacher can preach a sermon in which he says, "I think that George W. Bush is God's choice candidate." It is a sermon.

What a church body cannot do, as I understand it, is have their official governing body issue a church position statement that specifically says, "XYZ Church Official Endorses GWBush for Pres. of the USA."

Personally, I think they should be able to do the above if they wish. The IRS says I'm wrong. I don't think I am.

Takes your picks.

[William Martel]

Personally, I'm getting tired of groups such as AUSCS and their efforts to stiffle the First Amendment rights of Church groups. The Constitution clearly says that the right to worship freely shall not be infringed, which is clearly the threat here by those who silence preachers in the pulpit from making political statements.

I am starting to think that we ought to just do what they are trying to force us not to do. Maybe they will take us to court and maybe they will win, but at least we will have stood up for that in which we believe.

We need to start waking up and realize that these hypocrites are violating our God-given right not to have the government interfere in how we worship. THAT is what the Establishment Clause was all about in the first place.