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The
First Amendment should Apply to all Churches, not just the PC
few
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By Paul M. Weyrich
CNSNews.com Commentary
May 14, 2002
This week the House Ways and Means Committee is holding
hearings on a bill by Rep. Walter Jones which would guarantee
that members of the clergy will have their first amendment
rights restored. Years ago, Lyndon Johnson got a paragraph
inserted in a tax bill that prohibited members of the clergy
from engaging in politics from the pulpit. That provision
should have been challenged in the courts right there and
then. But forty some years ago, the public interest law firms
that we have on the right today did not exist. There was
basically only the American Civil Liberties Union, and they
were delighted with the provision.
The problem with that law is that it is not at all clear what
it means. Is opposing abortion practicing politics? Those
lawyers who are familiar with the thinking of the Internal
Revenue Service on the subject believe it is not. Abortion is
one of the most troubling moral issues of our time and the
clergy ought to have the right to speak about it without
endangering their 501(c)(3), tax-exempt status. Indeed no
pastor has been prosecuted for having spoken out on the
subject. But because of liberal propaganda, at least half the
clergy is convinced they have no such right, so they avoid the
subject.
The same goes for homosexuality and other moral questions
which are also often legislative questions. Members of the
clergy are confused about how far they can go on these
questions without running contrary to the law. Most agree that
they can say abortion is a sin. But can say tell their
congregations to support or oppose legislation on the abortion
issue? Can they tell parishioners to support or oppose
candidates based on their position on that issue?
Over 20 years ago, I asked the prominent Washington tax
attorney Alan Dye to draft a memo spelling out what the clergy
can and cannot do when it comes to politics. Thousands of
copies have been distributed. Most of the recipients were
shocked at how many rights they did have. Still, most have
been reluctant to exercise those rights.
At least that is true in churches that tend to be conservative
in their outlook. Churches that tend to be liberal have for
years engaged in outright politics and little has been done
about it. When the Reverend Jesse Jackson has run for the
presidency, not only did black churches serve as his
headquarters in many local communities, but hundreds of
thousands perhaps even millions of dollars were collected in
those churches for Jackson's campaign. It is not known how
much money was collected because most of it was in cash via
the collection basket and records were not kept. If Rev. Al
Sharpton runs for president, he will no doubt use the same
network of churches to support his campaign.
In 1988, when Gov. Michael Dukakis was the Democratic nominee
to run against then-Vice President George Bush to succeed
Ronald Reagan in the presidency, it was a well-known secret
that Dukakis collected much of his campaign money in Greek
Orthodox churches. Even though many Greeks didn't agree with
his politics, they were happy to have one of their own running
for president. The Orthodox were less blatant than Jackson's
people. They didn't take up collections during Divine Worship
services. Instead, the campaign often rented the church hall
for a meeting after the Liturgy where the pitch was made. And
money given was done so legally. There were no cash
collections. Still, did those Orthodox churches violate the
law?
It will be interesting to see how far Rep. Jones gets with his
bill. It is comparatively late in the legislative session. If
he gets the bill through the Ways and Means Committee, it is
not clear if he has the votes to pass the full House. Then
there is the Senate, which has become the do-nothing dumping
ground for most anything worthwhile. It will take 60 votes to
get the measure past the Senate. Considering the fact that
most liberal groups and liberal religious denominations oppose
the bill, it is hard to imagine that there will be enough
support to pass it. That is unless Al Gore, John Edwards, Tom
Daschle, Joe Lieberman, John Kerry and all the other hopefuls
for the Democratic nomination somehow find this bill to their
advantage. In that case it will sail through the Senate almost
without objection. It is hard to see that happening, but then
it will be interesting to see how Congressman Jones does in
the House as he starts the legislative process rolling.
Paul M. Weyrich is president of the Free Congress
Foundation. |
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