Tax Exemption and Partisan Politics Don't Mix
Religious leaders can endorse candidates as private citizens, but they should not be permitted to use tax-exempt church resources or the pulpit to do so. Tax exemption is extended to organizations for religious, charitable and educational work -- not for political organizing. If a church wants to be partisan, it can surrender its tax exemption.
Tax exemption is not a constitutional right. It is not even mentioned in the Constitution. It is a benefit and as such it comes with conditions. One of those conditions is a ban on partisan politicking. Most non-profits have no problem abiding by this rule, and houses of worship should as well.
Americans attend houses of worship for spiritual reasons, not political ones. Increasingly, Americans are telling pollsters they do not support politicized pulpits. One recent poll found that 75 percent of Americans do not believe “it is appropriate for churches
to publicly endorse candidates for public office.” In addition, 85
percent think it is not “appropriate for churches to use their
resources to campaign for candidates for public office.” Eighty-seven
percent do not “believe it is appropriate for pastors to publicly
endorse candidates for public office during a church service.”
Churches should stick to administering to the spiritual needs of the people and leave the politicking to the political action committees.
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I agree. Given the tax advantages churches enjoy, only black churches should have the right to engage in politics and endorse candidates.
Are you serious?
The plural of 'anecdote' is not 'data'.
I'm just going according to the way this rule is enforced ....
If political action committees are not tax exempt, and contributions to them are not tax exampt, then when churches act as PAC's they should lose tax exempt status. As a realist, I am certan that my actual desire - that no one group of *any* kind should be exempt - is unlikely to happen. But churches are exempt for murky and unclear reasons that benefit them and their members (individuals and other businesses deduct their contributions to the churches from their taxable income - a deduction not available for political campaign funds). Therefore, whenever churches act outside the scope of their exemption, in areas that for everyone else are taxable (operating businesses, investing in real estate and other investment vehicles, operating hospitals) then they should be taxed. Political activity is definitely not one of the reasons churches are exempt.