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Show 4 Thursday, September 9, 2004 Should Congress scrap a law that prevents churches from engaging in political activities? Yes w Jay Sekulow hen the Internal Revenue Service was established, it had one purpose to collect revenue for the general trea sury. Over the past 50 years, that role has expanded and to the chagrin of many people of faith, the IRS has become the "speech police" holding a heavy hand over nonprofit organizations including churches threatening to remove their tax-exempt status if they participate in political polit-ical activity. How did the IRS get this special power? In 1954, then-Senator Lyndon B. Johnson sought political retribution against an opponent oppo-nent who was assisted in his campaign by two nonprofit organizations. LBJ pushed a little-known amendment that became law that barred tax-exempt groups including churches from participating in political activity. The penalty: loss of tax-exempt status. sta-tus. The special power given to the IRS not only stifles the First Amendment rights of pastors and churches, but the IRS has been selective and biased in its enforcement. The law is flawed, misplaced, and a disaster. disas-ter. The IRS often ignores political involvement involve-ment from liberals and targets conservative churches and ministers like the Church at Pierce Creek in New York that had its tax-exempt tax-exempt status revoked after the pastor placed newspaper ads in 1992 calling attention atten-tion to then-Presidential candidate Bill Clinton's Clin-ton's position on critical moral issues like abortion and sexual abstinence outside of marriage. Religious leaders not only have a constitutional consti-tutional right to address the moral issues of the day many believe they have a responsibility respon-sibility to do so especially in the context of political campaigns. And, pastors should have the ability to speak out from the pulpit and support or oppose a political candi- mmliariiThelierald.com date based on where the candidate stands on the issues. Unfortunately, that is not permissible per-missible now. Under current IRS regulations, pastors and churches cannot endorse or oppose a candidate for political office. But they can and should speak out from the pulpit on issues that matter, most issues that are being debated this political season issues like abortion, same-sex marriage, and the war on terrorism. Under federal campaign finance and tax laws, pastors and churches can also sponsor voter registration drives, sponsor candidate forums and debates even open their doors for political events including the use of their facilities as polling places on Election Day. The IRS has no business muzzling pastors. pas-tors. That's why legislation like the Houses of Worship Free Speech Restoration Act sponsored by Rep. Walter B. Jones, R-N.C, is so important. The legislation would protect pro-tect the constitutional rights of pastors and put an end to the reign of the IRS as "speech police." The country has a rich and welcomed history his-tory of turning to churches and houses of worship during the debate of the great moral issues of the day. In the early days, the "election sermon" was common pastors pas-tors acknowledging our religious heritage and addressing the key issues of their day. During the revolutionary era, pastors spoke out from the pulpit encouraging dissent dis-sent and calling for freedom the prelude to the birth of our country a country that cherishes free speech. As the law stands, pastors must exercise caution so as not to run afoul of IRS regulations regula-tions putting their tax-exempt status at risk. But there is much they can do and perhaps in the future will be able to participate partici-pate fully in the political process including includ-ing the endorsement or opposition of candidates. candi-dates. During these challenging times, free speech is more important than ever especially espe-cially in the pulpit. Jay Sekulow is Chief Counsel of the American Center for Law and Justice, a Washington, D.C.-based organization specializing in constitutional law. No The Rev. Barry W. Lynn On any given weekend, millions of Americans attend services at churches, synagogues, temples and mosques. People go there to worship, to learn about their faith and to enjoy communion with like-minded like-minded believers. It's safe to say, however, that few go to hear which candidates they should vote for in upcoming elections. Yet some religious leaders insist that handing down lists of endorsements is part of their job. In this election year, some are even boldly urging churches to evade or defy tax law and jump head-first into partisan parti-san politics. Federal tax law simply does not allow this. Under the Internal Revenue Code, nonprofit, non-profit, 501(c)(3) organizations including houses of worship may not endorse or oppose candidates for public office. Despite this clear legal mandate, the Rev. Jerry Falwell and his Religious Right allies are urging evangelical churches to plunge into politics. He asserts that the IRS does not enforce the "no politicking" rule. Of all people, Falwell ought to know how wrong that is. His "Old Time Gospel Hour" was found to have engaged in unlawful campaign intervention by the IRS in 1993. The ministry's tax exemption was revoked for the years 1986 and 1987, and he was required re-quired to pay $50,000 in back taxes. Others have run into similar problems. In 1998, TV preacher Pat Robertson's Christian Christ-ian Broadcasting Network lost its tax exemption ex-emption retroactively for two years and was required to pay a significant sum in back taxes. A church near Binghamton, N.Y., lost is tax-exempt status in 1995 and disbanded because it ran newspaper ads telling people not to vote for presidential candidate Bill Clinton in 1992. Loss of federal tax exemption is no mere "slap on the wrist" for a religious institution. institu-tion. Tax law experts say it may also lead to loss of a church's property tax exemption or even put a pastor's ministerial housing allowance al-lowance in jeopardy. Tax-exempt organizations, including churches, are free to speak out about pressing press-ing moral issues and social justice concerns. The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King spoke in hundreds of churches as he advocated for civil rights, but he never abused the role of the church by endorsing any candidate from the pulpit. Church resources and church personnel may not be used to advance ad-vance a candidate's campaign. It's a small price to pay for the valuable privilege of a tax exemptioa There are profoundly important reasons beyond fear of legal penalties why religious leaders should refrain from church-based electioneering. The simple fact is, such activity ac-tivity invites controversy into the sanctuary. sanctu-ary. Congregations are sure to be divided when church leaders favor one candidate over another. Church electioneering also invites sectarian sectari-an strife into our diverse democracy. In some countries, the largest religious denomination denom-ination assumes the power to run the government gov-ernment and subjects everyone to its dogma dog-ma by the force of law. These places are not free, and few Americans would want to live in them. Yet this is what many in the Religious Right seek. In keeping with their fundamentalist doctrines, doc-trines, they want to teach their religion in public schools, use tax dollars to subsidize religious schools, ban reproductive choice, deny legal equality to gays and restrict medical med-ical advances through stem-cell research. By forging a church-based political machine, ma-chine, they hope to control the government. They must not succeed. Mergers of church and state always end up hurting religion in the long run. Wedded to the machinery of partisan politics, the church surrenders its prophetic voice for the promise of favored treatment. People quickly detect when a church has sold out to political interests and they abandon it in droves. To abide by the laws of the land and to maintain their independence and integrity, America's houses of worship must stay out of partisan politics. I The Rev. Barry W. 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