This year’s presidential campaign has provided more attention to religious issues and church involvement than any campaign since 1960 when John F. Kennedy sought the nation’s highest office.
And well it should. According to a study done by the Pew Research Center, a solid majority of voters — 61 percent — say they attend religious services at least once or twice a month. Slightly less than half — 45 percent — indicate they participate in religious services at least once a week.
That same study found that almost three out of four Americans — 72 percent — believe churches and other religious organizations help solve important social problems.
Americans also want their president to be a person of faith, the research found. Among women, 74 percent said they wanted the president to be a person of strong religious beliefs. Among men, the figure was 65 percent.
When researchers attempted to determine how Americans viewed various faith groups, they reached a surprising conclusion. The report stated, “Voters have a far more favorable impression of every religion tested than they do of atheists. Just 32 percent (of voters) hold a favorable opinion of atheists.”
Obviously religion is important to Americans, and religious Americans play an important role in choosing the leadership of this nation. But Americans are not agreed on what role religious organizations, including churches, should play in an election campaign. Voters are almost evenly divided about whether religious organizations should make their views known on political and social topics or if churches should “stay out of politics.”
The law is clear, however. Churches and religious organizations that hold a 501(c) (3) tax exemption may not campaign for or against any political candidate for any political office. That has been the law since 1954. Churches are free to comment on political and social issues without jeopardizing their nonprofit status.
Four years ago, a federal court upheld the decision revoking the tax-exempt status of Landmark Church in Binghamton, N.Y., because of anti-Clinton ads the church placed in national newspapers four days before the 1992 presidential election.
So far in this year’s campaign Americans United for Separation of Church and State (AUSCS) has asked the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to review the tax-exempt status of at least eight churches, which AUSCS contends illegally endorsed political candidates. The latest incident concerns an Oct. 10 event in a predominantly African-American church in Miami. At least one previous incident involved a Southern Baptist church in Arkansas.
Some lawmakers have sought to remove the barrier to partisan politics from churches and other religious organizations. Through what was titled the Houses of Worship Free Speech Act, an effort was made to allow pastors, churches and religious organizations to endorse a political party or candidate for office up to three times without losing their tax-exempt status.
However, the idea faced opposition from groups such as Southern Baptists’ Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC), which said the bill produced “an unacceptable intrusion of the IRS into the business of a church.” Ultimately, the bill failed.
Americans, as a whole, are pretty clear that they do not want pastors using their pulpits to discuss partisan political issues. By a 2–1 margin, responders told Pew researchers that to do so is wrong. That percentage has remained constant or higher for 40 years.
There is no disagreement about involvement of religious individuals in the political process, however. As stated previously, the majority of voters are religious. Unfortunately, the percentage of religious people who vote is not as high as the percentage of voters who are religious. Some estimate that only about 25 percent of evangelical Christians who are eligible to vote actually cast ballots. That is one reason ERLC has conducted a nationwide voter registration campaign this election year. Other religious groups such as the evangelical-based Call to Renewal also are conducting voter registration campaigns.
Every Christian should vote. It is our biblical responsibility to be “salt” and “light” to our community and nation by being involved in the process of governance.
Through the ballot box, Christians advocate policy positions consistent with the biblical values we hold. By voting, we continue to stand in the train of previous generations who paid for our freedom with their blood and demonstrate that we value the freedom that women and men continue to safeguard today.
October 22 is the final day in Alabama to register to vote in the Nov. 2 presidential election. Unless you are registered, you cannot vote. Be sure to register. Study the positions of the candidates on issues important to you. Pray for God’s guidance as you decide for whom to vote, and pray for our beloved nation. Then, on Nov. 2, make sure you cast your ballot. But remember, it all starts by registering to vote.
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