ADF Campaign to Violate IRS Rules Gains Coverage
As I posted last month, the Alliance Defense Fund is actively encouraging pastors to violate the terms of their tax-exempt status and endorse candidates from the pulpit. Today's Wall Street Journal picks up on the story.
The action marks the latest attempt by a conservative organization to help clergy harness their congregations to sway elections. The protest is scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 28, a little more than a month before the general election, in a year when religious concerns and preachers have been a regular part of the political debate.Their goal is to provoke an investigation that becomes a court battle in hopes of overturning the IRS's prohibition as unconstitutional. This is - to say the least - a horrible idea for everyone except, I suppose, the Alliance Defense Fund, which stands to gain enormously in attorney fees and exposure. The Interfaith Alliance's Welton Gaddy responds this way:
Houses of worship belong to divine authority – they are not the property of either political party. The Alliance Defense Fund’s call for pastors to break the law represents the height of irresponsibility. They are putting churches across the country unnecessarily at risk to costly and time-consuming investigations that could result in harsh financial penalties. Putting churches in legal and financial jeopardy seems a bizarre way of defending religious freedom, which the ADF claims to defend.