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33 Pastors In 22 States Participate In “Pulpit Freedom Sunday”

By 316Networks.com

Published: September 30, 2008

This past Sunday, in an effort led by the Arizona based Alliance Defense Fund, 33 pastors in 22 states were scheduled to make recommendations about political candidates to their respective congregations.

The conservative legal group said it plans to send copies of the pastor's sermons to the IRS, a move that may trigger a legal fight regarding church restrictions on political involvement. While critics call the move unnecessary and divisive, the group says the decision for churches to take part was voluntary.

Erik Stanley, senior legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, said out of the hundreds of churches who signed up, thirty-three churches were chosen by the group according to "strategic criteria related to litigation."

Pastor Luke Emrich of New Life Church, located 40 miles outside Milwaukee, was one of the churches selected. Emirich said he prepared his sermon on Sunday knowing his remarks could invite an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service. But on Sunday, Emrich forged ahead with his message.

"I'm telling you straight up, I would choose life," Emrich told about 100 worshippers on Sunday at his church. "I would cast a vote for John McCain and Sarah Palin."

"But friends, it's your choice to make, it's not my choice. I won't be in the voting booth with you."

Pastor Jody Hice of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Bethlehem, Ga was another participant. In an interview Sunday, Hice said he compared Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain in his sermon on issues of aborton and gay marriage and concluded that McCain "holds more to a biblical world view."

He also urged his congregation, which is Southern Baptist, to vote for McCain.

"The basic thrust was this was not a matter of endorsing," says Hicke, "it's a First Amendment issue." Hice added, "To say the church can't deal with moral and societal issues if it enters into the political arena is just wrong, it's unconstitutional."

In 1954, Congress amended the tax code to state that certain nonprofit groups, including secular charities and places of worship, can lose their tax-exempt status for intervening in a campaign involving candidates.

According to Robert Tuttle, a professor of law and religion at Georgie Washington University, the sermons are clear violations of IRS rules, because the pastors were speaking in their official capacity as clergy. Tuttle said there's "virtually no chance" courts will strike down the prohibition.

"The government is allowed, as long as it has a reasonable basis for doing it," says Tuttle, "to treat political and nonpolitical speech differently, and that's essentially what it's done here.".

The Alliance Defense Fund declined to release the list of participants in advance, citing concerns about potential disruptions at services. A list and excerpts from sermons will be made public early this week, with the delay necessary for lawyers to review the material, the group said.

In a written statement, the IRS said it is aware of Sunday's initiative and "will monitor the situation and take action as appropriate."

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