Avoiding church-state conflict
By the Helena IR - 10/04/06
Last week’s federal court ruling against a lawsuit filed by a Helena-area Baptist Church is a reminder that issues of church and state aren’t likely to go away any time soon.
The Canyon Ferry Road Baptist Church was accused by the state commissioner of political practices of violating campaign laws by failing to report its activities on behalf of a successful 2004 constitutional ban on gay marriage. The church sued, alleging the laws violated its freedom of speech and religion.
Federal District Judge Donald Molloy ruled against the church. Molloy noted that the First Amendment prevents the state from establishing a religion or preventing people from practicing the religion of their choice, but said in this case the church became an “incidental campaign committee” by holding meetings, distributing petitions, and other overt political activities.
“Nothing in the First Amendment keeps the state from exercising its regulatory authority over the political process,” he said, “even when the politicking takes place in the sanctuary.”
This sort of conflict is not a matter of liberal or conservative politics — the Internal Revenue Service is increasingly being asked to investigate whether churches are violating their tax-exempt status with their political activities. The complaints usually are made by conservatives about liberal political activities or the other way around.
This problem is hardly surprising. Whenever church goers believe their religious teachings compel them to take political action, the possibility of church-state conflict is never far away.
This conflict, however, is the last thing churches need, or should want. Church members who want to enter the political arena should create separate political committees to do so.
Molloy’s ruling was sound, but hardly new. The message goes back 2,000 years: Give onto Caesar what is Caesar’s.
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1 comment:
A Humanist quoting Scripture? And Correctly! Furthermore, a correct legal understanding of the situation, something Christians don't seem to be able to or desire to grasp. What has the world come to?
My humor is not meant to be negative toward you. I must admit, though, that I was surprised by your comments and conclusions, pleasantly surprised!
Actually, what those who desire to be involved in politics need to do is do away with their corporate status. Legally, a true church is not even recognized at law, only those religious organizations created by the State. You, as well as the judge in the above case, recognized this.
I know a non practicing attorney who helped her church out from under IRS trouble, who claimed the church owed thousands in taxes, without ever stepping foot in court.
She also told me that if she were to practice law in court on behalf of a client accoring to what she knew to be the law, she would be immediately disbarred.
As you rightly pointed out, though, Churches don't know what belongs to God and what belongs to Caesar.
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