Separation Of Church And State For Thee, But Not For Me.
Political involvement by ordained religious leaders and their respective houses of worship has always been controversial. When such involvement becomes explicit, the IRS can get involved and revoke that house of worship’s tax-exempt status.
Adding fuel to the controversy was Trump 1.0’s Executive Order 13798, “Promoting Free Speech and Religious Liberty,” which curtailed the IRS’ enforcement of the Johnson Amendment. As best I can tell, it was not reversed by President Biden.
In addition, a lawsuit was brought by the National Religious Broadcasters, challenging the constitutionality of the Johnson Amendment. But the Judge tossed the lawsuit for lack of jurisdiction.
Democratic Leaders reacted strongly to Trump’s EO.
By undermining the Johnson Amendment, President Trump is inviting unregulated, secret money directly into our houses of worship. Churches and places of worship should be sanctuaries of faith and community, not political action committees for big-money donors.” – Nancy Pelosi, House Democratic Leader — Official Statement on EO 13798 (May 4, 2017)
“Religious freedom is a core American value protected by our Constitution. What Donald Trump signed today isn’t about protecting religious freedom—it’s a targeted license to discriminate against LGBTQ Americans, women, and vulnerable communities, while turning places of worship into unregulated political Super PACs.” — DNC Press Release in response to the Signing of EO 13798 (May 4, 2017)
Clearly, Democrats are against turning places of worship into hives of partisan political activity.
Imagine my surprise when I received a tip that a local Presbyterian Church has been hosting “postcard writing” events for Darcy Castro, Democratic Candidate for Senate District 37. In fact, it’s listed on the church’s official website calendar. These weekly events have been listed on their calendar since July and will continue until the Wednesday before the General Election.
Given the Trump EO, the hammer of the IRS might not fall upon the church or the candidate, but it sure does seem hypocritical for a Democratic candidate to be using church facilities to do explicitly campaign-related activities. But such is politics these days. Very few hold firm to their principles and convictions. Actually, you know who does? Castro’s opponent, incumbent Senator Ed Setzler.
