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Once a week I create a new poll for the homepage of Christian Church Today. Last week, in light of the September 28 “Pulpit Freedom Sunday” which encouraged pastors around the country to “preach about the moral qualifications of candidates seeking political office,” I asked, “Should pastors be allowed to endorse political candidates from the pulpit?” As I write this, a full 50% have answered yes.
This amazes me. Never mind that it’s against the law for any tax-exempt organization, including churches, to “participate in, or intervene in, any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office.” Never mind that Romans calls us to “submit to the governing authorities.” Never mind that, according to this same passage, anyone who rebels against this God-given authority risks judgment.
No, instead, The Alliance Defense Fund which promoted the September 28 event claims this law is an infringement on the First Amendment rights of pastors, and preaching about candidates from the pulpit should not affect their churches’ non-profit status. “Churches are exempt from taxation under the principle that there is no surer way to destroy religion than to begin taxing it,” says ADF lawyer Erik Stanley.
I can think of one surer way—politicizing it.
Folks, no matter how just and moral you consider your candidate and his platform, acceptance of any politician requires a certain amount of myopia. John Kerry was pro-abortion, and George W. Bush authorized illegal torture of prisoners. Obama supports gay marriage and McCain has a notoriously vicious temper.
You may rank one of those as more important than the other, and that’s your right. But I’m amazed at anyone who believes he can confidently put forth his own myopic viewpoints as God’s.
I’m tired of blogging about this. I’m tired of the Christians who want the 10 Commandments in our courtrooms and prayer in our schools but who would go absolutely ballistic if public schools also required daily Koran reading and federal offices hung framed copies of The God Delusion. I’m tired of pastors demanding their freedom without acknowledging their church members should also have freedom to think independently.
More than that, though, I’m sad that at some of the churches participating in “Pulpit Freedom Sunday,” Obama-supporting, unbelieving, God-seeking guests probably attended and heard a partisan viewpoint instead of learning about the Source of all freedom. Do we really care more about their politics than their salvation?
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Jennifer Taylor
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Very well said, Jen!
I have mixed feelings about this topic. I’m in favor of churches having the freedom of speech. I’m in favor of Christians speaking out against sin, even political sins like the prophets of the Old Testament did. However, some of the issues preached may have little-to-nothing to do with ethics or moral standards. I will need to think about this some more.
Thanks Jen. When I see how seriously some Christians take sharing their politics, and how casually some Christians take sharing their faith, I think we have it backwards.
It is not against the law. The Constitution of the United States is the Law; the Internal Revenue code does not supercede the Constitution.
Your abuse of the passages from Romans is to say the least, offensive.
Exactly right!
It is important to note that the restriction is not with regard to speech, but with regard to accepting the limitations that come with tax-exempt status. If we feel we must speak, we should be prepared to give up this special favor granted by the law. A small price to pay?
Agreed. There is a standard opinion out there that the Christian faith is easily marriageable to the Republican party. This is a false opinion and denies the clear teaching and example of Jesus—who rejected Kingdom of the World politics in favor of a radically different approach. And, regardless of their “stated” stance on abortion, the republicans have just as many (maybe more) problems with the teaching of Jesus as the Democrats do. While it is ok to have political opinions and express them, in my opinion, supporting either constitutes a compromise of my faith.
There have been some fantastic books on this topic to come out in the past few years. Greg Boyd’s The Myth of a Christian Nation: How the Quest for Political Power is Destroying the Church, is among the best. Also look out for Shane Claiborne’s Jesus for President: Politics for Ordinary Radicals. I’m meeting more and more Christians (and ministers) who are having what is being described as a “moment of conscience” about this issue.
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