In one of the most appalling cases (IMHO) to come before the Service in recent years, a church has been warned that it could lose its tax exempt status because of a sermon. Yes, I know you’re waiting for the inevitable statement that politics were involved. And they were. But the ideological kind. Not a blatant “Vote for… (fill in the blank)” that riled so many after the last election. Unlike other cases which have been called into question, this one involved no campaign literature, no organized rallies, no posted signs. It was an anti-war sermon, which the Service is classifying as “intervening in political campaigns and elections.”
Apparently, being critical of the current administration is enough to get your status revoked.
The rector at the church, J. Edmund Bacon, called the threat “a direct assault on freedom of speech and freedom of religion.” (source: CNN.com)
Even more telling, the Service has offered to drop the revocation proceedings if the church admitted wrongdoing, which the church has declined. Their attorney vowed to fight the proceedings, saying that it is not based on facts. This practitioner agrees.
It is nothing new that preachers and priests exhort their followers to uphold their own tenets. Does the Catholic Church’s stance on abortion merit a revocation in that it’s a “conservative” position? Does the Episcopal Church’s stance on homosexual priests merit a revocation for such a “liberal” doctrine? I think we all agree that they don’t.
The fact is that churches, which are practically de facto 501(c)(3) under the Internal Revenue Code, embrace ideology. Without a doctrine, what would churches be? Social organizations? Taking a different position on the issues, no matter the timing, should not be enough to trigger a revocation of status. It is clear that blatant campaigning is prohibited, though I would note that such campaigning did happen during the last presidential election with very different results.
This isn’t about liberal versus conservative. It’s about the law being applied consistently and fairly. It’s very disturbing to me, as a practitioner, to hear that tax-exempt organizations are being monitored for their statements, and not for their activities. It’s a slippery slope – and as citizens, we should all be concerned.
The Church needs guidance. Not control, because no man can control what God says. I guess people of the Church are saying that God is talking to them. And people of the state are also saying that God is speaking with them. The Old Testament tells it all.
Please give me the address where I could collect a copy from the Internet of the new impending laws for the guidance of all religions.