Antiwar Sermon Brings IRS Warning

[zimv20]

link (http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-allsaints7nov07,0,6769876.story?coll=la-home-headlines)


Antiwar Sermon Brings IRS Warning

All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena risks losing its tax-exempt status because of a former rector's remarks in 2004

The Internal Revenue Service has warned one of Southern California's largest and most liberal churches that it is at risk of losing its tax-exempt status because of an antiwar sermon two days before the 2004 presidential election.

Rector J. Edwin Bacon of All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena told many congregants during morning services Sunday that a guest sermon by the church's former rector, the Rev. George F. Regas, on Oct. 31, 2004, had prompted a letter from the IRS.

In his sermon, Regas, who from the pulpit opposed both the Vietnam War and 1991's Gulf War, imagined Jesus participating in a political debate with then-candidates George W. Bush and John Kerry. Regas said that "good people of profound faith" could vote for either man, and did not tell parishioners whom to support.

But he criticized the war in Iraq, saying that Jesus would have told Bush, "Mr. President, your doctrine of preemptive war is a failed doctrine. Forcibly changing the regime of an enemy that posed no imminent threat has led to disaster."

On June 9, the church received a letter from the IRS stating that "a reasonable belief exists that you may not be tax-exempt as a church … " The federal tax code prohibits tax-exempt organizations, including churches, from intervening in political campaigns and elections.

The letter went on to say that "our concerns are based on a Nov. 1, 2004, newspaper article in the Los Angeles Times and a sermon presented at the All Saints Church discussed in the article."

The IRS cited The Times story's description of the sermon as a "searing indictment of the Bush administration's policies in Iraq" and noted that the sermon described "tax cuts as inimical to the values of Jesus."

(more)

[IJ Reilly]

I was going to post this story. One hates to think the IRS is being used to go after left-leaning church congregations, but then this other story just happened to run on the same page of the Times.

Abortion Proposition Finds Its Forum in the Churches

In pulpits and fliers, the little-publicized ballot measure's profile is raised among faithful.

November 7, 2005

ROSEVILLE, Calif. — For months, the public debate over Proposition 73 was almost eerily quiet.

Short on funds, neither side could afford to make much public noise about the measure, which would require doctors to notify parents of minors seeking abortions and define the procedure as causing the death of "a child conceived but not yet born."

But as the weeks before election day dwindled, millions of voters began hearing about the initiative in a place not routinely associated with California politics — their neighborhood church.

So it went on Sunday, when the faithful up and down the state received a dose of propaganda with their prayer books.

At some Catholic parishes around Los Angeles, it came in a glossy "yes on 73" flier slipped into the church bulletin. At Methodist and Lutheran churches in the Bay Area, it was dished up by organizers who set up information tables behind the pews and urged a "no" vote.

And at some evangelical Christian churches, including the Rock in Roseville, a suburb of Sacramento, pastors made time for a two-minute DVD featuring teenage actresses promoting support for the measure.

"The essence of Prop. 73 is to protect young girls from abortion and allow parents to be part of that equation," said Senior Pastor Francis Anfuso at the Rock, where the video rolled on twin screens shown to about 900 weekend churchgoers. "There's a wonderful simplicity to it, and it's definitely a message we wanted to spread here."

Amid the din of television ads targeting other measures facing voters Tuesday, it was easy to miss the mostly grass-roots debate over Proposition 73. The measure contains the most emotional issue on the ballot, but the campaign has been hashed out largely below the radar with few mailers, a smattering of radio ads, some automated phone calls and only a single major-market TV ad.

One unique feature, however, was the campaign inside halls of worship, places usually reserved for reflection and prayer.

...

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-nuabortion7nov07,1,3334505.story

All of which leads me to wonder whether any of these conservative churches are being pursued by the IRS for engaging in political advocacy.

[iSaint]

I love being an Episcopalian!!! Fr Bacon is originally from the Diocese of Mississippi. I have found our clergy and many of our parishioners to be leaning left socially, which should be expected. I'm continually amazed at my own liberal self having grown up in 'good ol' boy land'.

I wonder if I should be afraid of an audit now that I have posted my confessions of liberalism?

[zimv20]

All of which leads me to wonder whether any of these conservative churches are being pursued by the IRS for engaging in political advocacy.
you think there's hypocrisy? this administration? never!

[tristan]

Well, I agree with the underlying issue - campaign contributions are not tax deductible, but charitable contributions are, so the IRS (and the FEC) gets nervous when charitable organizations start trying to influence elections. But it does seem to be being enforced selectively, and I'm not exactly sure what the answer should be anyway - there is a freedom of speech principle here.

[zimv20]

i think the answer is simple: keep politics out of church and the IRS.

[Don't panic]

here is a bipartisan suggestion:
remove tax-exemption status from ALL religious organizations.
no exceptions whatsoever.

[leekohler]

here is a bipartisan suggestion:
remove tax-exemption status from ALL religious organizations.
no exceptions whatsoever.

Then guess what? Theocracy here we come! I personally don't want them entering government.

[tristan]

I don't think its right to tell people in a church that they can talk about God and morality and ethics but not about politics. Also, churches historically have been on the right side of many social issues. There's got to be a better solution. Maybe just ban political ads and contributions from religious organizations.

[IJ Reilly]

you think there's hypocrisy? this administration? never!

Seriously, I am wondering. The article suggests that the IRS sends out quite a few of these letters every year. I wonder how they decide who gets them?

[solvs]

Not one who believes in the conspiracy theories (not a conspiracy if it's all out there in the open), but this is a head scratcher. I wonder if that Church that was telling it's people to vote for Bush got the same letter. Somehow I doubt it. And last I checked, Jesus was a peaceful kinda guy.

The irony being that the local place to vote in my district was a Church.

[mactastic]

There is no real good solution. Churchies should be able to bloviate on the issues, same as the rest of us. Where I get pissed is when churches turn over their rosters to a political party, or engage in organized coordination with a party. I'd also like to see a little humility from some of these guys who are so sure God hates John Kerry because Kerry doesn't hate gays and abortion enough, and so sure God supports Bush despite his warmongering, lying, and eagerness to execute.

What I'd like to see I guess is a rise in liberal churches to take on the conservative ones. Since I'm not religious I'm not in any position to tell them what to do however. I hear Markos (of The Daily Kos) is teaming up with a pastor to start a liberal religious discussion website. I haven't seen the results yet though.

[Thomas Veil]

All of which leads me to wonder whether any of these conservative churches are being pursued by the IRS for engaging in political advocacy.*Ahem, ahem!* "Justice Sunday??" How many right-wing churches participated in that? How many of them got letters from the IRS? I'd be willing to bet zero.

[Lyle]

I hear Markos (of The Daily Kos) is teaming up with a pastor to start a liberal religious discussion website.I'm trying to imagine how that would work. Would the forum members all just tell each other how stupid they are for believing in God?

[mactastic]

I'm trying to imagine how that would work. Would the forum members all just tell each other how stupid they are for believing in God?
:rolleyes:

Come on Lyle, you're better than that. Or did you forget the smiley?

[IJ Reilly]

Follow-up article in today's Times:

Conservatives Also Irked by IRS Probe of Churches

The agency's warning to All Saints is part of a wider look into political activity by nonprofits.

The IRS threat to revoke the tax-exempt status of All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena because of an antiwar sermon there during the 2004 presidential election is part of a larger, controversial federal investigation of political activity at churches and nonprofit groups.

Over the last year, the Internal Revenue Service has looked at more than 100 tax-exempt organizations across the country for allegations of promoting — either explicitly or implicitly — candidates on both ends of the political spectrum, according to the IRS. None have lost their nonprofit status, though investigations continue into about 60 of those.

The IRS denies any political motivation behind the initiative it started last year. The Treasury Department's inspector general found in February that there was some mismanagement of the investigations but no indication of them being used as a political cudgel to silence critics of the Bush administration.

However, the IRS action has triggered an unusual coalition of critics who say they are concerned about the effect on freedom of speech and religion.

When Ted Haggard, head of the 30-million-member National Assn. of Evangelicals, heard about the All Saints case Monday, he told his staff to contact the National Council of Churches, a more liberal group.

Haggard said he personally supports the war in Iraq and probably would not agree with much in the Rev. George Regas' 2004 sermon at All Saints, which was cited by the IRS as the basis for its investigation. But Haggard said he wants to work with the council of churches "in doing whatever it takes to get the IRS to stop" such actions.

"It is a violation of the Constitution for the IRS to threaten that church. It may not be a violation of IRS regulations, but IRS regulations have been wrong," said Haggard, who is pastor of the 12,000-member New Life Church in Colorado Springs.

Robert Edgar, general secretary of the National Council of Churches, cheered when he heard of Haggard's offer, which Edgar said represented a rare reaching out by the evangelical group to the council.

Edgar, a United Methodist minister, former Democratic congressman from Pennsylvania and ex-president of the Claremont School of Theology, said the IRS move against All Saints appeared to be "a political witch hunt on George Regas and progressive ideology. It's got to stop." He stressed that Regas did not endorse a candidate in the sermon.

Edgar said he did not favor a bill repeatedly introduced by Rep. Walter Jones (R-N.C.) that would allow pastors to endorse candidates without putting their church's tax-exempt status at risk. Existing law is adequate, as long as enforcement does not vary for churches with different ideologies, Edgar said.

The tax code prohibits nonprofits from "participating or intervening in any political campaign on behalf of, or in opposition to, any candidate for public office." The ban includes endorsements, donations, fundraising or any other activity "that may be beneficial or detrimental to any particular candidate."

Advocating for ballot initiatives, as many California churches have done in advance of today's special election, is a separate issue, tax experts said. Churches and other tax-exempt organizations are allowed to engage in lobbying as long as "a substantial part of the organization's activities is not intended to influence legislation."

Savvy churches make sure they don't draw unwanted attention from the IRS, church officials and others said.

When elections near, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles sometimes sends reminders to local parishes of its guidelines on political action. "We don't endorse or oppose candidates, but we can endorse ballot propositions when there is a moral or ethical issue involved," said archdiocese spokesman Tod Tamberg, who knew of no local Catholic churches under IRS scrutiny.

This weekend, during Mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, Archbishop Roger Mahony endorsed Proposition 73, the state ballot initiative requiring parental notification before an abortion can be performed on a minor.

The Rev. William Turner, senior pastor at New Revelations Missionary Baptist Church in Pasadena, said he has never been questioned by the IRS about political activity at his church, despite his reputation as a supporter of President Bush. "We tell our members to vote their conscience," Turner said. "I've been very careful to preach the Gospel, and I can't get into any problems with the IRS for preaching the Gospel."

The Rev. John Hunter, pastor of 18,000-member First African Methodist Episcopal Church in South Los Angeles, said his church follows the IRS rules. "Churches have to be very careful," he said.

First AME also taps the expertise of member Kerman Maddox, a public relations and political consultant. He tells candidates they can worship at First AME but cannot speak from the pulpit about their candidacy. Instead, he tells them "they can shake hands, pass out literature and campaign to their heart's delight" if they stay off church property. The church doesn't endorse ballot initiatives, he said, and it bans campaign literature at the church.

At All Saints, Rector J. Edwin Bacon on Sunday told the congregants that the guest sermon by Regas, a former rector, on Oct. 31, 2004, had prompted the warning from the IRS. In the sermon, Regas did not instruct parishioners whom to support in the presidential election but said that Jesus would have told the president that his Iraq policies had failed.

The IRS' letter cited a Times article describing Regas' sermon as having triggered the agency's concerns. The church denies it violated tax rules and has retained a Washington law firm to help argue its position.

Using such news reports and tips from the public and interested groups, the IRS identified more than 100 nonprofits that had allegedly intervened politically in the 2004 presidential election. The agency reviewed the cases and selected more than 60 for fuller examination. About of third of those organizations were churches, officials said.

The IRS is barred by law from identifying those nonprofits, and the agency would not comment on the specifics of the All Saints case or others.

Steven Miller, the IRS commissioner of tax-exempt and governmental entities, said there is nothing political about how cases are chosen. Churches need to be more cautious about what they say during election seasons, and make it clear when they're not speaking for the church, Miller said. "If there's no election, there's no potential for intervention.

"The courts have said, yes, you have freedom of speech, but not the right to tax-exempt status," he added.

...

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-irs8nov08,0,2552376.story

[leekohler]

What I'd like to see I guess is a rise in liberal churches to take on the conservative ones.

I've been saying that for a while.

[mactastic]

I've been saying that for a while.
Would you like a cookie? :p

The real question is, how do you achieve it?

[iSaint]

I've been saying that for a while.

The conservatives in the Episcopal Church believe the liberals have been subversively 'taking over' (or whatever) for 30 years. Accusations are flying across the board. A Google search will find you plenty of blogs and other informative news events. Conservatives are losing their grip due to the fact that the common man can actually reason beyond what the conservative agenda has promoted for 50 years (or more).

[leekohler]

Would you like a cookie? :p

The real question is, how do you achieve it?

I don't know. I've talked to Christian friends of mine about it. They just dismiss the fundies as wackos and don't see any reason to do anything. I've tried to tell them that those wackos are maligning their religion, but I don't get much of a response.

[superbovine]

Seriously, I am wondering. The article suggests that the IRS sends out quite a few of these letters every year. I wonder how they decide who gets them?

I am sure any adminstration can influence the IRS to audit anyone of their desire. I think the term is "Political Audit", but I could be wrong.

[solvs]

Come on Lyle, you're better than that. Or did you forget the smiley?
Didn't you know, liberals hate religion. Jesus, perhaps the most liberal person of all time, was very much against the corrupt church leaders of his day. It was those darn Deists who wanted to separate Church and State. Silly dreamers. Everyone knows it's the same thing.

[mactastic]

Didn't you know, liberals hate religion.
I sure hope that's not what Lyle was implying. Just because the left tends to worship privately, instead of wrapping themselves in God and bashing dissenters with the Bible doesn't mean there are not good people of faith on the left. I'm not one of them, but I know plenty of lefty God-lovers.

[tristan]

It's much more complicated than that. For every Martin Luther King there's a Jerry Falwell. For every abolitionist, there's a temperance nut. Right now we don't see too many religious social progressives, except perhaps Jessie Jackson and Al Sharpton, but for most of history they've been out there and leading the crusade, while some other religious nut is trying to pull them back in. And it's not just in this country, think Gandhi family vs the Moslems/Sikhs. I think they should all be allowed their say, but I know who's side I'm on.