Conservative Pastors to Break Law by Endorsing a Candidate

September 26, 2008

NY Times: Defying a federal tax law they consider unjust, 33 ministers across the country will take to their pulpits this Sunday and publicly endorse a candidate for president.

They plan to then send copies of their sermons to the Internal Revenue Service, hoping to provoke a challenge to a law that bars religious organizations and other nonprofits that accept tax-deductible contributions from involvement in partisan political campaigns.

More News & Videos:
http://atheistmedia.blogspot.com

-

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• pastors
• irs
• tax
• exempt
• law
• church
• state
• christian
• conservative
• evangelical

[Fredgar125]

This shouldn't be a problem. All the government has to do is make churches and other religious foundations pay taxes like everyone else.

[Elcristoph]

fuck'um..if they do this the IRS should permanently remove the tax exept status..its that simple..

church is for preaching gospal not polotics..

[TheSmackerlacker]

@revgothlove No. It's not. The law does not require pastors to not endorse political candidates. It requires them to not endorse political candidates if they want tax exempt status, because otherwise it would mean that public funds were being used to fund a political campaign unlawfully.

Pastors can endorse anything they want, but they won't use my money to do it.

[TheSmackerlacker]

@vechorik Churches are some of the most profitable businesses in the world. The Westboro Baptist Church was fined almost a million dollars, and they haven't closed their doors.

It's just a racket, and it always has been.

It's simple really. Tax exemption means that tax payers are paying part of the operating costs of the church. Apart from this being a violation of my rights, it also means that they're using my money to fund a political campaign that I don't support.

[TheSmackerlacker]

@Elcristoph Their tax exempt status should be removed anyway. MY government does not give preferred status to religion.

[ttgator2003]

No substantial part of the activities of ______________________________­___(your Church's name here) shall be dedicated to, or otherwise attempt to influence United States State or Federal legislation, and the corporation shall not participate or intervene in any political campaign on behalf of or in opposition to any candidate for public office.

[vechorik]

What about freedom of speech? It's the same old story, accept something from the government and they "own you." Maybe churches should pay taxes and become free to say what they want. The government wouldn't have to decide what's non-profit and what isn't -- but then the government would be free to "tax churches and non-profit agencies out of existence."

[ManicEightBall]

They like special treatment when it gives them tax breaks, bu then turn around and demand to be treated like others when it works against them. How selfish.

It's not about you getting to do what you want. It's about people you don't like getting to do what they want. I can see the pagan groups having fund raisers for Obama and getting tax breaks at the same time. Won't THAT go over well in conservative churches.

[tifforo1]

@Fredgar125

Do you think that non-religious nonprofits, like United Way, should have to pay taxes?

[revgothlove]

the irs restrictions on pastors is unconstitutional

[ScaperSteph]

It's ironic that Baptists back in the day were all for church/state separation....when they were a minority!

They've forgotten their own history. Power corrupts.

[guppyninja]

ramgarden: of course scripture has been altered, the current bible in common use today in most churches in the UK, the US and Australia is the King James version, so called because King James and his senior advisers rewrote the bible in a very clever way. they kept as much of the original text the same but rephrased or downplayed parts that put them in a bad light while enhancing and emphasising parts which showed them in a good light. this was then printed cheap for the masses