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May 09, 2008

Churches Seek Court Test of Federal Ban on Electioneering

In a test of federal tax law, a conservative legal group is encouraging pastors to preach about election candidates in September, reports The Wall Street Journal.

The Alliance Defense Fund hopes a court case will result from this open defiance of tax rules, which bar churches from engaging in partisan politics, and that the restrictions will be struck down by the courts.

The planned September 28 protest comes in a year when the Internal Revenue Service has stepped up investigations of churches accused of political actions, the newspaper notes.

Barack Obama’s denomination, the United Church of Christ, is being investigated for allowing the candidate to speak to 10,000 of its members last year. Churches found guilty of violating the tax rules may be fined or lose their tax-exempt status.

“The government should not be telling the church what it should or should not be saying,” says the Rev. Steve Riggle, senior pastor of Grace Community Church in Houston.

The effort angered groups that seek to enforce the tax law forbidding partisan electioneering by churches. Said Rob Boston, a spokesman for Americans United for the Separation of Church and State: “If any pastor out there feels he is gagged or can’t speak on partisan politics, … forgo the tax exemption and say what you want.”

To learn more about issues affecting nonprofit causes in the 2008 election, see The Chronicle’s special campaign section.

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