After seeing first-hand what happens when religion and government become bedfellows, our founding fathers made sure government was used to neither support nor suppress any religion.Our government has done a decent job in doing so since then. But our religious establishments seem to enjoy flouting this truly American ideal.We look no further back than 2004 when the Archdiocese of St. Louis barred Sen. Kerry from partaking in communion in St. Louis.Archbishop Raymond Burke cited Kerry’s support of abortion rights as the reason behind his judgment. The archbishop seems to have forgotten not everyone feels as ecstatic as he does with the idea of an organization as pure and pedophile-free as the U.S. Catholic Church dictating public policy.To be clear, I really don’t give a damn about communion. In my opinion, that stale little wafer is a horrible way to waste calories — although I do support the idea of using wine as a means to sit through church.But to Sen. Kerry and many of the nation’s Catholics, the archbishop’s move was denying a devout follower participation in a Catholic rite.The purpose of Christian pastors and leaders is to help everyday Christians strengthen their bond with a spiritual being, not pass judgment on elections or policy issues.And while it is the duty of every citizen (including church leaders) to vote, helping choose whom to support is not in the job description of these leaders last I checked — which is why the third-quarter federal campaign finance reports, released in the last few days, are so unsettling.Proposition 1, which would overturn the state’s gay marriage law, is on the ballot in Maine this November.The proposition’s primary supporter, Stand for Marriage Maine, raised about $2.6 million this quarter to fund efforts to overturn gay marriage.On the surface, nothing appears to be amiss. The group is well within its rights to fight for a proposition.The problem lies with one of the group’s major supporters.Not surprisingly, the group’s biggest supporter is the National Organization of Marriage, who donated roughly $1.6 million, or about 60 percent of the group’s total fundraising. They are well within their rights as an organization to do so. The blatant violation of our Constitution comes as we turn to the second biggest donor to the campaign, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland.The Maine-based diocese gave $529,666 to the organization. Church leaders there clearly thought their resources were better used to politick rather than feed the hungry and help the sick.It’s as if the Catholic Church is forgetting, unlike the Vatican City or the Islamic Republic of Iran, the U.S. is not a theocracy.Maybe the IRS should remind them of this and move to immediately revoke any tax-exemption status the diocese was given.Tax-exemption is by no means entitled. The purpose is to aide private organizations to do work that in turn helps the community.To digress, I don’t personally love the idea of gay marriage. I support civil unions, but it is my personal belief marriage is an institution best used by religious organizations.Yet organizations who receive such privileges need to understand it is exactly that — a privilege.Churches who decide to politick should absolutely see this privilege revoked. The same idea goes for major labor unions who decide to tie themselves to candidates and parties.Religious organizations should speak out about issues important to them, but their tax-exempt status should be revoked when they decide to politicize issues.This act is not an attack on free speech, rather it is one of the best means our government has for enforcing the separation of church and state our founding fathers died for.Stephen Schmitz is a 19-year-old mass communication sophomore from The Woodlands, Texas. Follow him on Twitter @TDR_sschmitz.– – – -Contact Stephen Schmitz at [email protected]