Around election time, politicians like to visit the BethelAfrican Methodist Episcopal church.
Pastor Herman Kelly, who doubles as a University African andAfrican-American studies instructor, said candidates who think theAfrican-American vote is important will come to his church.
But letting candidates speak to the congregation outside ofSunday services is all Kelly will allow.
“I’m very protective of my congregation,” Kelly said. “I usuallydon’t invite candidates to the church during elections.”
Politicians have been using churches and other places of worshipto reach and motivate voters for years, but recent legislationintroduced to the United States House of Representatives lastFriday wants to change what religious organizations can actuallydo.
Slipped inside a large corporate tax bill, the provisionintroduced by House Ways and Means Committee chairman Bill Thomas,R-California, will reduce fines for tax-exempt, charitableorganizations who violate the Internal Revenue Service coderegarding political activity.
Currently, the IRS Web site states current code forbids anyorganization with tax-exempt status to attempt to influencelegislation or to directly or indirectly participate or intervenein any political campaign.
Larry Crumbley, an accounting professor, said a broad range oforganizations receive the exemption, but usually is determined bythe organization’s ability to lobby Congress.
“Most of tax laws are politics,” Crumbley said.
Crumbley said the legislation is an attempt to change the law,so it is legal for religious groups to participate in campaigns –a practice which has been going on for a long time.
“The IRS has not really gone after anybody,” Crumbley said.”They haven’t been aggressive, so [legislators] are trying to relaxthe law.”
But the Associated Press reported critics of the bill, such asthe American United for Separation of Church and State, see it as aRepublican attempt to soften the penalties for religiousorganizations that participate in elections. Especially when justlast week the Bush-Cheney re-election campaign contacted 1,600″friendly congregations” in Pennsylvania seeking grass-rootsactivism.
Jordan Joplin, president of 220 Campus Ministry, disagrees.
Joplin said politicians should have ability to get involved withchurches.
“If the administration’s campaigning is not interfering at allwith the way people operate their religion, [Bush] has every rightto reach out to the individuals he believes will support him,”Joplin said.
Joplin also said he believes people try to put too much weighton the argument about separation of church and state.
“It’s not even in any of the original documents of thegovernment,” Joplin said. “It’s taken out of context.”
For Kelly and his church, political involvement is important,but it should not interfere with religious practices.
Kelly said the African-American church in general has alwaysbeen involved in the political process, and it is important for hiscongregation to be informed.
But he resents politicians when they only visit the churcharound elections.
Kelly also said he often refuses offers of political breakfastsand luncheons when he realizes the true motivation is to get hiscongregation to support a particular candidate.
“Part of our Christian commitment is to be involved, but ifpoliticians come and want our vote, they need to be accountablethroughout the year,” Kelly said.