Redner and the Priests
From and email.............
I am writing this in my professional capacity. A colleague is looking for anyone who went to church Sunday and heard a sermon or homily in which the preacher made an overt or veiled reference to the Redner-Miller race.
We have reports that a priest at one of the Tampa Catholic churches made a veiled reference, saying there was a moral choice to be made in the election and that people who vote should think about how outsiders will view the city. Anyone who heard anything in church and would be willing to talk about it, please contact Anthony McCartney at 259-7616 or cell, 731-4813.
Thanks,
Mike Salinero
Environment Writer
The Tampa Tribune
(813) 259-8303
cell: (813) 731-0956
13 comments:
Blow it out your ass.
Where are you A-Holes when the Rev Jackson or Sharpton are spweing their BS in church?
Doesn't matter what a preacher preaches, except when it comes to politics.
politics don't mix with religion.
whole church and state divided.
Methinks this be the direction of this concern.
What ever happened to the separation of Church and State? Have you ever noticed how the right wing runs for their bible to "protect" the sanctity of marriage?
Joe you get my vote!
A church can lose it's non-profit status if it's caught getting into politics...I think.
bringiton-
You're nothing but an anti-American douche bag punk ass bitch.
And how exactly does restating a point made in the constitution make one an anti American, freedom hating, string of invectives?
Churches receive tax-exempt status as 501(c)(3) organizations under the IRS code. Churches are not required to pay most taxes, and people who make contributions to churches may count those gifts as tax deductions.
___The IRS code in Volume 1:856 stipulates that 501(c)(3) organizations must not "participate in or intervene in (including the publishing or distributing of statements) any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office."
Anonymous @11:10 you're correct, it became the rule in 1954 I think, but from what I've read the IRS is pretty lax on enforcement.
There's a lot of precedent for churches weighing in on elections while maintaining their tax-exempt status. Handing out voter guides that list who to vote for sometimes crosses the line, depending on how it's done. But telling your parishoners to vote according to the morality taught in the church without specifying who to vote for (or against) is pretty safe.
As someone who is often in the crosshairs of the religious-minded, I see the irony here of supporting the very people that persecute me. Regardless, churches should be able to bring up morality issues that occur in the public arena like politics without fear of attack.
Anon 7:14-
"separation of church and state" does not appear anywhere in the Constitution.
I saw my priest at Mons Venus.
Does that count?
The phrase "separation of church and state" is derived from a letter written by Thomas Jefferson to a group identifying themselves as the Danbury Baptists. In that letter, quoting the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, he writes: "I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, thus building a wall of separation between Church and State." See here and note the footnotes. Church and State
In addition, there is a large body of decided law that supports the concept in our political system.
The first Ammendment clearly makes some separation between exercise of religion and the State mandatory. How one interprets that can vary, but without question, the Constitution does prohibit the State from establishing or requiring any particular religious belief, which includes a *lack* of religious belief.
...and another thing. :-)
The Church has no constitutional right to be exempted from tax. The tax exemption is, in part, based on the notion of a separation of church and state. If the church wishes to be fully involved in politics, it may, and in so doing gives up its tax exemption. No ligitimate power of the State can take away a priest's or a church's right to political speech.
So really, there is no "church and state" or Constitutional question here.
....The Sierra Club, Green Peace and Planned Parenthood have never been involved in politics. Yeah, right. It has nothing to do with religion and everything to do with Tax Exempt Status.
I'd say the left violates this tenant more often than the right but each skirt the issue. The priest was wholly within his rights to tell people to vote and how to choose as long as he doesn't say WHO to choose.
Post a Comment