Republican propaganda churches reported to the IRS in Ohio

[Jade Fox]

Finally, some serious moves are being made to bust (tax-exempt) churches who are virtually Republican propaganda centers. Good move, folks in Ohio!

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/16/national/16church.html?ex=1295067600&en=e2bc8ef1e42d6693&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss

A group of religious leaders has sent a complaint to the Internal Revenue Service requesting an investigation of two large churches in Ohio that they say are improperly campaigning on behalf of a conservative Republican running for governor.

In their complaint, the clergy members contend that the two Columbus-area churches, Fairfield Christian Church and the World Harvest Church, which were widely credited with getting out the Ohio vote for President Bush in 2004, have allowed their facilities to be used by Republican organizations, promoted the candidate, J. Kenneth Blackwell, among their members and otherwise violated prohibitions on political activity by tax-exempt groups

-snip-

But the leaders who supported the complaint said that the two churches had gone too far. "I have become very concerned about how it could be that churches were becoming almost an extension of a political party," said the Rev. F. Allan Debelak, the minister of a Lutheran church in the Columbus area and a signer of the complaint. "They have been giving what seems to be an endorsement, even if they never used the word, an endorsement of Ken Blackwell."

Thirty-one clergy members representing a variety of Christian and Jewish denominations signed the complaint, which was shown to the news media on Sunday. Rabbi Harold J. Berman said he had signed because he was concerned that the line between church and state was becoming blurred. "I think government is clearly impaired when churches get too actively involved in government," he said, "and I think religion gets impaired when government acts in religious affairs."