A bill that would have freed churches to engage in partisan politics without losing their tax-exempt status failed to gain a majority in the House of Representatives Oct. 2 — despite heavy support from the religious right.
The “Houses of Worship Political Speech Protection Act,” sponsored by Rep. Walter Jones (R-N.C.), lost 239-178.
Republican leaders brought the bill to the floor in a procedure circumventing the usual committee process but requiring a two-thirds majority for passage.
The bill failed to gain even a simple majority, however, pleasing critics including Welton Gaddy, a Baptist minister who directs the Washington-based Interfaith Alliance.
Gaddy’s organization took part in a broad coalition opposing the measure.
He said its passage would have politicized faith and turned houses of worship “into political entities to be lobbied for money and votes.”
Gaddy also said its rejection did not “silence” the religious community, as some allege, but “respected it.”
Debate on the measure lasted into the night on Oct. 1. “It is my opinion that this bill demeans religion and demeans houses of worship by converting them into political campaign organizations,” said Rep. Chet Edwards (D-Texas). “If I had a malicious intent to import divisiveness into our churches, I could find no better way to do it than to pass this ill-conceived bill into law.”
Clergy freer to speak
Rep. John Hostettler (R-Ind.), however, shared a more positive appraisal of the measure. “This legislation frees our clergy to speak their consciences from the pulpit on all issues, even those which may stem from the political arena, without the chilling effect that the tax code has on our houses of worship,” he said.
The bill sought to change current law that says churches and other groups organized under section 501(c)3 of the federal tax code are not allowed to endorse candidates for office.
Jones and his supporters said that regulation, inserted in 1954, was politically motivated as a way for then-Sen. Lyndon Johnson to get back at two nonprofit organizations that were opposing his re-election.
But Rep. Amo Houghton (R-N.Y.), said Jones’ bill was an improper solution to an imagined problem. It would have applied only to churches, meaning other non-profits would be discriminated against.
“Today churches are free to talk about the issues in any way they want, but they cannot use the church resources on a tax-deductible basis to campaign for a candidate,” Houghton said.
Supporters of the bill included evangelist D. James Kennedy, Focus on the Family founder James Dobson and Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission head Richard Land. More than 200 religious and civil rights organizations opposed it, including the Baptist Joint Committee on Public Affairs and Americans United for Separation of Church and State.
Ten Democrats voted in favor of the bill, while 46 Republicans crossed the aisle to oppose it.
At least three congressmen, including Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-Ala.) who voted against the measure had at one time been among its 133 co-sponsors. (ABP)
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