Pastors Who Took Part In Sunday Pulpit Protest Reported To IRS

Main Category: Women's Health / Gynecology
Also Included In: Abortion;  Litigation / Medical Malpractice
Article Date: 07 Oct 2008 - 9:00 PDT

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The advocacy group Americans United for Separation of Church and State filed a report on Thursday with the IRS about the actions of two Oklahoma City-area pastors who recently took part in Pulpit Freedom Sunday -- an effort organized by the conservative Alliance Defense Fund to protest an IRS ban on political endorsements by tax-exempt religious entities -- and endorsed Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), the AP/Tulsa World reports. The Rev. Dan Fisher of Trinity Baptist in Yukon, Okla., and the Rev. Paul Blair of Fairview Baptist Church in Edmond, Okla., were among the 33 pastors in 22 states who made party or candidate recommendations during their Sunday sermons on Sept. 28, defying a ban under the IRS tax code that prohibits tax-exempt places of worship from indirectly or directly endorsing a political party or candidate. ADF encouraged pastors to defy the IRS ban on political endorsements and pledged to aid in the legal dispute that could result, the AP/World reports.

Fisher -- who preached against abortion and same-sex marriage and in favor of appointing conservative Supreme Court judges, the three issues that he said he feels are important to Christian voters -- said, "I'm convinced that the freedom to speak is worth more than the tax-free status." Blair said that the ban is unconstitutional and that it should be challenged in court, according to the AP/World. He added, "I don't cease to be a citizen when I step into the pulpit. I don't lose my constitutional rights." ADF has said the goal behind the organized protest is to have the ban declared unconstitutional. Robert Boston, a spokesperson for AU, said, "The purpose of a church is to tend to people's spiritual needs, not behave like a political action committee. The provision is very clear that there may be no endorsement or opposition to candidates by non-profit organizations," referring to the tax-exemption that many houses of worship receive. An IRS spokesperson said that the agency could not comment on individual investigations but that it is aware of the events that took place on Sept. 28 (Murphy, AP/Tulsa World, 10/2).

Related WSJ Article

In related news, the Wall Street Journal on Friday examined the Sunday sermon of the Rev. Ron Johnson, pastor of Living Stones Church in Crown Point, Ind., who also participated in the pulpit protest. During his sermon, Johnson explained the history of and his support for political discussion from the pulpit. He also highlighted the presidential candidates' stances on the issues of abortion and same-sex marriage. In addition, Johnson indirectly endorsed McCain by saying that voting for Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) would be evidence of "severe moral schizophrenia," the Journal reports (Buss, Wall Street Journal, 10/3).

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