Pastors plan to 'bait' IRS with pulpit politics

[asdjrocky]

NASHVILLE — On Sunday, a group of 100 preachers nationwide will step into the pulpit and say the only words they're forbidden by law from speaking in a church.

They plan to use the pulpit as a platform for political endorsements, flouting a federal law that threatens churches with the loss of their nonprofit status if they stray too far into partisan politics.

While other church and nonprofit leaders cringe at the deliberate mix of the secular and the religious, participants in the annual Pulpit Freedom Sunday protest hope this act of deliberate lawbreaking will lead to a change in the law.

"For governor, I'm going to encourage people to vote for Bill Haslam," said David Shelley, pastor of Smith Springs Baptist Church here, one of seven Tennessee religious leaders who plan to take part in the pulpit protest. He also will throw his support behind a Republican congressional candidate and a Republican statehouse candidate and urge his congregation to skip the spot on the ballot where a Democratic state senator is running unopposed.

The rest-
http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2010-09-26-irs25_ST_N.htm

Maybe it's time to end tax exempt status for these people?

[marew]

1. Way past time! nt

[glinda]

2. Naming or declaring a "Day" does not exempt them from the law. IRS do your job!

[blondeatlast]

3. It's planned, guaranteed. They want this to go to the Supreme Court.

It's going to be another Citizen's United decision; that's precisely what they want.

[asdjrocky]

6. I think you nailed it.

They know the SC is now on their side.

[damntexdem]

19. Are we so sure about that?

The 501-C-3 exemption is about exemption from taxation based on following a set of rules. It is not a straight-out restriction on speech; it's allowing a benefit on the basis of voluntarily limiting speech.

[asdjrocky]

21. I couldn't honeslty say I'm sure of anything any more with this SC.

Or this administration.

[blondeatlast]

23. Here's how I see it happening: educational institutions (read think tanks)

are not subject to the same rules. this allows college professors to voice their political views without the educational institutions being deprived of tax-exampt status.

Where it gets tricky, though, is that the likes of AEI and the Heritage Foundation ALSO retain this "educational" tax-exempt status--and those gamers are making policy with "fellows" who go on TV and crow about it.

I'm betting that these churches will challenge it on that issue.

FWIW, I help "corporations" (ie, small businesses) set up corporations for a living--and I'm also a very liberal Christian who thinks these asholes need to pay taxes for mouthing off, just like the think tanks (even if it means all churches lose their tax-exempt status, sadly). :hide:

I'm not a lawyer, but I've read loads of case law on the subject and I just smell a rat with these activist churches.

[Dogtown]

4. Scoff-laws with impunity.

They won't be prosecuted, and their tax-exempt status will not be revoked.

As we take one more step into the certainty of theocracy.

[lumpy]

17. If you read the full article, in 1998 a church lost it's tax-exemption

for 1 year.

[Dogtown]

22. I didn't, thanks for your information.

Fully noted that that happened under a Democrat administration, and before 9/11. Which changed EVERY goddam Thing!

I doubt that will happen to these folks, or very often in the future at all.

I'd love to be proved 100% wrong, though.

[Captain Boomerang]

5. So their goal is to screw all 501C3's?

If they want to be another mouthpiece outlet for the GOP, I think they need to pay their taxes.

[unblock]

7. this restriction is so easily circumvented anyway

as a practical matter, the priest, paster, rabbi, often lets members take their turn to speak their mind to the congregation, be it for personal pleas or community notices or whatever. in an election year, they can recognize a member to talk about political endorsements. it can easily be done in a way that makes it look planned and official without actually being official. legally, it's not the church's position or voice, it's merely the voice of a member or several members. but it works the same way, everyone knows that's the church's endorsement.

it's the same sort of restriction around political fund-raising, where a politician gives a speech and then leaves, then everyone goes across the street for a fund-raiser that's technically an unrelated event.


one wonders why they bother to challenge a law when in practice it doesn't hinder them in the slightest. the fact that they have to "bait" the irs into taking action shows that the law isn't a real concern in practice.

[w4rma]

8. End all churches' tax exempt statuses. Treat them like regular businesses and let them say whatever

they want to say.

[rfranklin]

9. I'll second that...

They are businesses.

[Name removed]

10. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[bobbolink]

12. Good idea. Post the lists with addresses and times.

Good action.

[dawg]

11. I love the way they say they are "forbidden" by law from speaking freely ...

They aren't forbidden by law from being political. They are given a special exemption from taxation, that others do not receive, for being an apolitical religious organization. They can say anything from the pulpit they want. If they want to be mouthpieces for the Republican Party, then fine. No one is stopping them.




They just need to pay their damn taxes!

[WCGreen]

14. Exactly!

[struggle4progress]

15. +++!

[Tippy]

13. They do this in various ways all the time

But to announce ahead of time, expecially in USA Today, is something else....I am ashamed for my State. There is more to it than, I am thinking SCOTUS too.

[Skidmore]

16. I would second that.

If they want to be players, let them put some skin in the game.

[damntexdem]

18. Good: the government needs the revenue!

So let their churches start paying taxes; and then they can do all of the politicking they want from their pulpits.

If only the IRS will actually enforce the law.

[yella_dawg]

20. The government is desperate for liquidity.

This may be a serious mistake, boys.