Faith and politics

It seems many priests and ministers are unaware of what they may legitimately do without jeopardizing the status of their churches as 501(c)3 under the current tax code.

A friend recently sent me a link to a piece on the web site of Priests for Life by attorney James Bopp, Jr.

The piece is entitled "What Are the 'Do's' and 'Dont's' For Churches?" The entire piece is worth reading, but the section on pastors was partifularly enlightening to me:

Pastors, as individuals, have the same rights as all other American citizens to involve themselves in political activity. Pastors thus have much greater latitude to involve themselves in political activities than does a church. The following should guide a pastor regarding personal political activities which may relate to his church position:

1. A pastor may individually and personally endorse candidates for political office, but a pastor may not endorse candidates on behalf of his church.

2. A pastor’s personal endorsement may be made from the pulpit if it is clear that it is his personal view and not that of the church itself.

3. A pastor may allow his name to be used as a supporter of a candidate in the candidate’s political advertisements. In this connection, the pastor may be identified as pastor of a particular church.

4. While a church may not establish a political action committee, pastors and other like-minded individuals may establish a political action committee, but care should be taken that the committee is separate from the church and no use is made of church assets or facilities except to the extent that church facilities are allowed to be used by other outside groups.

I was unaware that pastors could endorse a candidate by name - or even a party - from the pulpit. This is good information to know. Even so, I'll not be endorsing anyone by name, but I will continue to teach what the Church holds true.