[xzins]

Speech is speech, regardless of the setting. There is no legal distinction between religious expression and political expression; both are equally protected by the First amendment. Religious believers do not drop their political opinions at the door of their place of worship, nor do they disregard their faith at the ballot box. Religious morality will always inform the voting choices of Americans of all faiths.

Starting to get to the heart of the issue.

The heart of the issue is that the government shouldn't be in the business of taking anything that belongs to God.

[gdani]

The supposed motivation behind the ban on political participation by churches is the need to maintain a rigid separation between church and state

If that's the case, then why are the IRS regs re: electioneering applicable to all 501(c)(3) non-profits, not just churches?

There is no "right" to tax-exempt status. If you accept it, you know full well what you're getting yourself into.

There's a real simple solution to all of this for churches -- abandon their tax-exempt status & electioneer as much as they want. Some conservative churches have done just that so they don't have to serve two masters.

[pigdog]

Actually, I think the best manner to remove his weapon from the arsenal of the left is NOT to legislate specifically against it, but to remove their power to discriminate using the tax laws.

Passing the FairTax into law for taxation would eliminate their ability to use this threat since income - no matter the source - would not be taxed; only consumer consumption. Churches would then be free to have free speech under the Constitution as originally intended (and not now practiced).

It's time for the FairTax!!!

[GSlob]

"I agree with my colleague Walter Jones of North Carolina that the political views of any particular church or its members are none of the government’s business. "
Perfect. Then abolish the tax-exempt status of that [and other] church[es] and charitable tax exemption for its members and other individuals - and everyone will live happily ever after. [the government would still have a legitimate interest in the activities of places similar to Finsbury mosque in England, though]

[pgyanke]

If the church were to organize political volunteers to work on a campaign, I can see an issue. What is said in church should never be a concern of the government.

[Tzimisce]

It's okay - the American left assured me that the Constitution was never intended for Conservatives. Just themselves.

[wmfights]

One of the disappointments of helping to elect PUBS in the executive and legislative branches has been their willingness to support and pass new laws limiting our freedoms. CFR is just the tip of the iceberg.

It is especially frustrating to see the selective enforcement that the career bureaucrats practice.

[The Great RJ]

Having been a lobbyist I know the difference between overt political influencing and simply sermonizing. While it is OK to talk about issues in the pulpit from a religious perspective, a church hosting a partisan campaign rally or openly campaigning for or against candidates is not permissible. This is true for all 501(c)(3) tax exempt non profits whether they are churches or other organizations.

This part of the tax exempt code is for CHARITIES and the organization must be doing some kind of charitable work to qualify ...hence donations made to 501(c)(3) organizations are deductible from personal income tax.

Note there are some other tax exempt organizations that CAN legally lobby particularly those approved under 501(c)(6)...for example industry trade associations. If an organization wants to lobby and remain exempt from federal income tax they can, but donations to that organization are not tax deductible.

[JamesP81]

The IRS is flippin' evil.

[TheCrusader]

"I agree with my colleague Walter Jones of North Carolina that the political views of any particular church or its members are none of the government’s business."

Any government that opposes religious speech to the extent of outlawing the clerics' non-violent political speech does so because they fear religion and view it as competition. And what you end up with, basically, is Communism. Communism too allows Churches to stand and people to attend, but only in a government controlled system, and at a great risk of the loss of freedom to all who oppose their corrupt system of government. America is absolutly drifting in that direction, but I believe our Constitution will prevent it from happening to the extent our government would like to have it.

In any case, regardless of whether or not the government will yank the tax-free status of any Church that opposes its evil, corrupt "laws" like abortion and homosexual 'marriage', or prosecutes the clerics, the Church will never be under the foot of government for long, because its authority and power comes from God. As our Lord and Master proved 2,000 years ago, even when you kill the Church and put it in its grave, it rises again.

[calex59]

The IRS can't take free speech from anyone. They can, however, take the tax exempt status from churches that engage in political speech and political messages. The whole tax exempt thing is based around that. If a church wants to discuss politics and have candidates campaign for office from the pulpit then they have to give up tax exempt status.

Seems resonable to me. Church wants its rights under the constitution, give up the right not to be taxed and they've got 'em!

[ancient_geezer]

A Taxreform ping for you all.

There is no clause of the Constitution mandating a freedom of government from religion. Quite the contrary!!!

"The ONLY foundation for...a republic is to be laid in Religion. Without this there can be NO virtue,and without virtue there can be no liberty,and liberty is the OBJECT and life of all republican governments."
---Benjamin Rush...Founding Father

If anyone would like to be added to this ping list let me know.

John Linder in the House(HR25) & Saxby Chambliss Senate(S25) offer a comprehensive bill to kill all federal income, SS/Medicare payroll, and gift/estate taxes outright replacing them with with a national retail sales tax administered by the states.

H.R.25,S.25
A bill to promote freedom, fairness, and economic opportunity by repealing the income tax and other taxes, abolishing the Internal Revenue Service, and enacting a national retail sales tax to be administered primarily by the States.

Refer for additional information:

• AllTheWeb search: "national sales tax" OR "national retail sales tax" OR "fairtax"

[vpintheak]

The most invasive, unconstitutional agency ever created, threaten our liberties?! Who'd a thunk it?

[ZULU]

"Five years ago, I wrote about threats made by the Internal Revenue Service against conservative churches for supposedly engaging in politicking. Today, the IRS is again attempting to chill free speech, sending notices to more than 15,000 non-profit organizations—including churches—regarding its new crackdown on political activity. "

I don't think clergymen should be preaching politics from the pulpit.

For every conservative clergyman out there ignored by the popular media, there is a pack of Methodist, Prebyterian and Episcopalian anti-war, anti-gun, pro-illegal alien, pro-sodomite "Christian" revisionists sqealing like so many swine from the pulpits and given mass coverage by the media.

Tax 'em if they politicize - but tax 'em equally.

The conservatives will come out ahead.

[BaBaStooey]

Let's review.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.


Congress shall not establish a national religion. Check.
Congress shall not prohibit the free exercise of religion. Check.
Congress shall not abridge the freedom of speech or of the press. Check.

Yes, I believe all of these take precedence over anything the IRS is planning to do. Congress created the office of Commissioner of Internal Revenue in 1862 (Revenue Act of 1862). Therefore, an agency created by Congress cannot infringe on these rights.

[Leatherneck_MT]

The IRS needs to be dismantled. A more intrusive useless government agency can't be found.

[MichiganConservative]

I love how this topic starts an internecine war about which group(s) should be taxed, bringing out people's envies and resentments, instead of focusing us on why the government has, or believes it has, the power to deem certain speech or assembly taxable. I think a lot of talk here missed the point, that the government is the enemy of freedom and liberty.

[sauropod]

review

[Mind-numbed Robot]

The present tax system is much more than a mechanism to impose and collect taxes. It is a system of social and economic control as well. Many things accomplished by the present tax system would be abhorred if attempted independently. Get rid of it!!

[MichiganConservative]

Why is it that political speech is what causes the church or group to be taxable? If it were fashion tips or scifi book club recommendations, would that cause them to lose their tax status. I believe that the reason it is political speech is that the government wants to squelch sources of political speech. The saying says somethign to the effect of "tax what you want to destroy". It's better for the politicians if people aren't criticizing them. And if the peons deign to criticise their betters, those betters are going to try to make it as uncomfortable as possible.