Megachurches build a Republican base

[mzteris]

LANCASTER, Ohio (Reuters) - It's not Sunday but Fairfield Christian Church is packed. Hundreds of kids are making their way to vacation Bible school, parents are dropping in at the day-care center and yellow-shirted volunteers are everywhere, directing traffic. In one wing of the sprawling church, a coffee barista whips up a mango smoothie while workers bustle around the cafeteria.

. . .The fastest-growing faith group in America, evangelical Christians have had a growing impact on the nation's political landscape, in part because adherents believe conservative Christian values should have a place in politics -- and they support politicians who agree with them.

In that March survey, more than 82 percent of the Ohio evangelicals who attend church at least once a week said they approve of bringing more religion into politics.


. . . "Evangelical Protestants have become much more Republican in recent times, although 40 or 50 years ago more of them were Democrats," said Green, director of the University of Akron's Bliss Institute of Applied Politics.

"There was a particular intensification of evangelical links to the Republican Party during the Bush administration in 2000 and 2004."


-MORE-

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060716/pl_nm/religion_politics_usa_dc_1

[AX10]

1. TAX'EM!

[mzteris]

2. I agree.

I think all churches and their extended retail activities should be taxed. All properties, all salaries, etc.

[City Lights]

7. You took the words right out of my mouth!

:thumbsup:

[Stinky The Clown]

3. They're creating parallel societies

Right down the street from us is a minicipal park with very nice soccer fields (and tennis courts and baseball diamonds and a stocked fishing lake and other sports and outdoor faciltiies). Directly across the street is a megachurch-run soccer field. The municipal soccer league and the church soccer league do not interact except to compete for kids to play.

Now, several years after the mega-church league was started, the minicipal fields are less used and the leagues smaller .... and decidedly darker skinned.

Just my observation, but it appears the megachurch is bent on destroying the municipal groups and excluding kids 'not like them'.

I am no antireligion. I AM anti hate and anti discrimination. I can not be convinced the megachurch is not, at heart, a white supremacist bunch of nutters who use such things as this soccer league to .... well ...... brainwash kids.

[longship]

4. I agree. They need to pay taxes.

nt

[saracat]

5. Take the poll about how many want churchs to be "politcal. Vote NO!

[mzteris]

6. link? n/t

[saracat]

8. It vanished and the article has changed!

They might have pulled it as NO was winning but barely.it was 48 yes 52 NO.

[Ezlivin]

9. The megachurch I used to go to had a bowling alley

That was just for starters. Bellevue Baptist Church in Germantown, Tennessee (they moved from Midtown Memphis in the 80's), even has a wedding chapel that is bigger than most churches. They have several internal softball leagues, for Christ's sake! When you drive onto their 300+ acre "campus", you'll see lots of manicured ball fields and a sports center that is top notch. They operate under a multi-million dollar budget.

At a local megachurch, Fellowship Church of Grapevine (Texas), they have 7 plasma TVs in their bookstore (next to the Starbucks). You don't even want to know about their A/V system ($$$$).

For those who've never been in a megachurch, it's in its own separate world.

Now only if the poor could get in to get some help....