Does Your Church Have a Gag Order on Politics?

ANY church that endorses ANY candidate should (and will to the best of my knowledge) their tax exempt status.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/black-church-leade...

and before anyone says that I would support and cheer for them if they supported Romney - no I would not. it is NOT the place of the church to tell me how to vote. It is the place of the church to guide and direct me with my relationship with God - NOT the government.

Church and State violation is in regard to inserting church things into state things like school and government. Not vice versa. So, actually, preaching churchy things from the government houses and schools is what's not allowed. Claiming the Constitution is a biblical document borders on this imo. We have freedom of religion here, not forced religion.

But. OK, Let's say for a minute that predominantly black churches are promoting Obama and you feel it's illegal.

What say yee to massive mega evangelist churches preaching to the masses to vote for God and against Satan by upholding the anti-gay, pro-life candidates. Is that OK with you? I have heard MANY preachers promoting Republican candidates EVERY ELECTION for these reasons, my extended family's evangelical churches included. They literally PRAY that Obama loses and God wins. It is my belief many Repub candidates pay lip service to the pro-life stance just to keep these large audiences.

Are you saying this only goes one way? The blacks promoting Obama?

For the record, none of my churches have ever endorsed any candidate or I would not attend.

Well, I'd be HAPPY to be in a church that didn't talk about politics. HOW DARE a pastor tell me how to vote. Huckabee having the balls to insinuate that I'd go to hell for voting for President Obama is bad enough.

A minister has NO BUSINESS talking politics from the pulpit - EITHER SIDE.

Dawn

I'm answering while I'm looking for a resource or web site.

What I've learned is that our First Amendment prohibits the government from making any laws prohibiting our freedom to live and express our religion. The ACLU seems to have made it their mission to confront pastors and priests with threats of having their tax-free status removed. That's not how it works.

Our First Amendment rights say we can express, live, and talk of our personal beliefs even in the "public square."

Like I said, I'll revise my post when I find something that will be useful.

-- Update --
Check on: http://www.alliancealert.org/2012/10/30/should-pastors-re...

Pastors and priests (rabbis, etc) have every right to speak what their beliefs, their opinions, and what they want to teach; short of treason. God bless all of our religious leaders!

-- New update --

Our First Amendment Rights, to be exact: "The First Amendment (Amendment I) to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. The amendment prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, ...".

Telling pastors they do not have freedom of speech at the pulpit is like saying they do not have the "free exercise of religion".

You've got your separation of church and state backwards.
The constitution sets the rules for our government, such as separation of church and state, but churches are private institutions, they can set whatever rules and guidelines they want, just like an individual or a corporation.
ETA: however, I believe there are different rules for profit vs. non profits in regards to promoting/contributing to political campaigns (?)

My priest gave a brilliant homily on the election. He did not endorse a candidate. He talked about his own journey as a new American (he is an immigrant from Ireland) and then talked about how he ranged from republican, to democrat to independent. I thought he was very brave to discuss this so opening. He absolutely did not tell us who to vote for. Instead he went through issues one by one and discussed them in light of Catholic teaching. There is not "clear" Catholic candidate between Obama and Romney, so this was a good approach and refreshing. He treated us like independent, thinking individuals.

I am Catholic. Our priest has never endorsed a candidate by name--not sure if they can, legally. However, they can certainly talk about policies--birth control, same sex marriage, etc and how it pertains to religion.

Church and state only applies to the government.

I would imagine the governing body of those churches has decided to stay out of politics and have instructed they churches that this is the rules.

I think it is a good rule. I am Catholic, I remember our pastor saying he would not give communion to anyone who voted for Kerry. That really turned me off.
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I think people don't understand that there is a difference between endorsing someone and saying this person does or does not represent the beliefs of our faith. None of these churches are at risk of losing their tax exempt status.

If the church is not paying tax, they legally must have political neutrality. State can't push religion. Religious organizations can't force people to vote one way or the other, but they can encourage members to choose an (unnamed) candidate who most strongly holds to their belief systems and members within the church. Besides, most predominantly black churches are usually small, personable congregations who have similar belief and value systems with each other... so if a black congregation aligns themselves with Obama, that is more a personal choice as opposed to a religious forced one that would violate the separation of church and state... so long as it isn't actively being preached over the pulpit and they aren't publicly posting signs and such.

Even the LDS/ Mormon church doesn't publicly endorse Mitt Romney, the members usually do vocally, but the actual church doesn't. Every year they come out with an official notice telling members they only ask the members to choose a candidate that best reflects their values and they leave it at that, absolutely no name dropping.

It depends on if they are paying taxes as well.. federal law prohibits any action by tax-exempt nonprofit groups -- including churches -- to "endorse or oppose" any candidate for public office. Now, if the church chooses to still pay taxes, they can publicly endorse anyone they want.

While I agree a church is not the place for politics, religion has become a big player in the American political system as of late.

The separation between church and state you refer to is the responsibility on the side of the government to keep any religion out of policies. People have the freedom to choose to go to a particular church or not but we only have ONE American government that we all have to share, it must remain secular.

My church is very vocal about VOTING. Thats it and thats the way it should be. There are so many who don't vote---I think that is so sad.....

I don't care which way ya vote, just get out there and VOTE!

I attended a Catholic mass this past weekend with family members and teh priest said "We all know how Obama loves Islam..."

Ummm...he's Baptist.

Any church that endorses a particular candidate is in danger of losing tax exempt status. The church can reiterate it's position regarding political opinions/positions (on right to life, contraception, defense of marriage, or whatever), but cannot endorse a particular candidate.

The separation of church and state only keeps the state from meddling in church affairs, not the other way around. I think it would be good practice to keep politics out if the pulpit, since surely your political orientation shouldn't be a litmus test of how religious you are... But any such restrictions are self imposed by the church in question and they can involve themselves in the political debate if they so wish.

My church stays out of politics. And for that I am thankful as it's a real turn-off to me.

No there is no gag order, and this isn't at all about separating church and state. The separation of church and state means that the state (government) can't dictate to the people what they have to believe in or follow regarding their religion, and can't legislate based on principals that are purely religious.

But there is no reason that a church can't exercise it's first amendment right to encourage its own members (who are members of their own free will) to vote a certain way. It is then up to the members of that congregation to decide whether they want politics served up with their religion.

I am Catholic and would really love to not get a weekly dose of political nonsense when I go to Mass each week but you can bet that the Church is very vocal about matters and candidates that it feels reflect or conflict with church teachings. Although our Church doesn't say to vote for one candidate or the other, we definitely get pretty overt reminders that the Church is pro-life and expects true believers to vote a pro-life agenda when that agenda doesn't come along with stances on other issues that are against church doctrine. There is a "physician-assisted suicide" law up for vote in my state and we've been getting literature and lectures on this for months, and when gay marriage was up for debate here, we heard that all the time too.

I tune most of it out or just leave when it gets too political for my liking. But there is nothing wrong with a church getting involved in politics and some could argue that churches have a responsibility to educate their congregations about leaders and issues line up with the church's beliefs and encourage them to vote for candidates or issues that reinforce those beliefs.

A church that endorses a candidate can lose their tax exempt status. Legally i believe that is the possible repercussion.

Personally I believe it is wrong for a pastor to endorse a candidate. Separation of Church and State is what this country is founded on. I believe it is downright dangerous to endorse a candidate in the name of religion. Best to endorse values allowing individuals to make their own judgement on who best would impose those values.

If churches want to endorse candidates then I want my tax dollars to stop subsidizing them. They are tax exempt and own a TON of property. You want to engage in political speech. That's fine - but not on my dime. Actually I see no reason in the world churches should be tax exempt - whether or not they engage in political speech.

I do think it is fine to encourage people to vote - it is in fact our civic obligation.

Doesn't have anything to do with separation of church & state.

My church is very clear on their stance against liberal ideals. I attend an interdenominational church with strong baptist roots. I have no problem with my church leaders asserting an opinion about right/wrong, and encouraging their regular attenders to work to preserve morality in this country. However, 'endorsing' one candidate over another, or taking hard political stances? Nope. Never, and I wouldn't be comfortable with it.

Sep of Church & State is created by the state, for the state... In how the state is run. Not in how churches/mosques/temples/etc are run. Only if there was NO sep, could the state dictate what churches preach.

My church "has" a candidate on the floor.

They are neither endorsing nor censuring him. Not even as a 'represents our beliefs' type thing.

What my church says is "Educate yourselves. Vote your consciences. That answer will be different for different people."

Absolutely NO pressure to vote one way or another. The opposite.

Federal law prohibits any tax-exempt organization, such as churches, from endorsing a candidate in a election. A church in Leakey, TX is at risk of losing their non-profit tax exemption because their public, outdoor marquee reads "Vote for the Mormon, not the Muslim". If a pastor endorses a candidate from the pulpit, where he/she speaks as the church, they face the same risk of penalty.

This is a big no-no in regards to the exempt non-profit status of a church. THey can lose that status if the allegations are reported and proven.
What I have heard is that african american churches are encouraging members to vote- period. Not for a specific person, but they want people to get out and represent themselves. This is not a violation of tax status. This particular story has been all over the news locally and nationally.
BTW- Hearsay is anything that is not heard directly from the source, rather passed from one person to the next by word of mouth without actually being present. So even though you may have heard it from a member of the congregation, that does not make it a reliable source. People get things mixed up all the time and repeat it. I'm not saying you are lying- I'm saying don't believe everything you hear, either.

First Amendment Freedom of Speech! A pastor can say anything he wants to his congregation or anyone else! I would bet that what you're talking about is a regulation or rule established by that particular church.

Well, considering that one of the churches here is actually holding the election polls....I don't think that's too separate.

I think that people are much more interested in keeping the church out of the state, than the state out of the church, at least as far as campaigns go. :)

No. My church does not have a gag order, but they just don't talk about it. I guess they figure their job is to instruct people on how to live a Godly life, have a better walk with the Lord and strive every day to become closer the person God wants us to be by praying and studying the bible. Geesh with all that responsibility, who really has time to take on such mundane and short-lived issues as an election?

My church has promoted voting by talking about how important it is to exercise this right and setting up tables to help people register to vote. I know many Catholic churches around town (not my church) have set up billboards and signs on their property that say Vote for Religious Freedom, so many are emphasizing that aspect of voting. My church has participated in a 21 day prayer up to the election and this Sunday the message is entitled How to Vote and still be Christian. NONE of the church staff has specifically endorsed a certain candidate or made anyone feel pressure to vote a certain way. However, many people in the congregation have turned to the church for guidance as they decide who they will vote for. We have been encouraged to ask God for His wisdom, to help us seek the truth from the candidates and the media and anoint our elected officials with righteousness, truth and integrity.
My church is non-denominational and predominantly caucasian. You can go to www.Lifegateomaha.com if you want to listen to the message. It won't be available until late Sunday or Monday though.
HTH,
A.

It's not a violation of Church and State because the law is that the STATE cannot chose what religion you are or force you to be Catholic/Christian/Mormon...
And a lot of predominately WHITE churches encourage people to vote for Obama too.

I wish mine did. We have temporarily stopped going to church because of the hate being spewed from the pulpit. It is so much of a different tenor from the 08 election.

The black church has a unique role. The black church is where the Civil Rights Movement was born. With that, of course 99.9% of black ministers rallied for their members to support Obama. Now, with Obama's stance on gay marriage, the Black church is about 89% endorsing him outright.