Blog from the Capital

Mark Tooley of the Institute for Religion and Democracy is looking askance at a "voter guide" published by the United Church of Christ. It should, he suggests, get the same kind of scrutiny that conservative voter guides created for church dissemination often receive.

Allegedly manipulative conservative religious voter guides often get lots of media play. But Religious Left groups publish their own guidance, although for a much smaller potential constituency.

The 1.2 million member United Church of Christ (UCC), whose elites are probably the most left-leaning of all major U.S. denominations, has helpfully composed “Our Faith, Our Hope” (me--actually they are called "Our Faith, Our Vote") guides to direct how liberal Christians should think in politically correct terms about climate controversies, socialized medicine, the U.S. presence in Iraq, immigration and the Welfare State.

To be certain, churches should not distribute voter guides that are de facto endorsements. The IRS is clear that voter guides for educational purposes is ok for tax-exempt organizations, including churches, but tailoring the "issues" to favor a particular candidate is not ok.

However, note that the UCC guides Tooley finds to be slanted are issue-based pamphlets. They don't mention candidates by name, much less attempt to characterize their positions. The page on health care (pdf) says: "The United Church of Christ speaks prophetically that health care is a basic right and that our health care system must provide comprehensive, quality, affordable, accessible and available health care for all. Key General Synod Resolutions and Pronouncements (Synods 10, 11, 18 and 21) bear witness to our prophetic vision." It offers some context for problems that people face due to a lack of health coverage, and some potential questions for candidates. In other words, it is a guide to certain issues, but not a guide on the candidates. Indeed, it is not even tailored to a specific office, but could be used in thinking about any upcoming election or legislation. In addition, as a part of the program, UCC offers guidelines (pdf) for their churches in educating voters without endorsing or opposing particular candidates.

If you want to see a voter guide that's troublesome, compare that approach to the new 2008 Presidential Race voter guide (pdf) from Wallbuilders. Issues there are not discussed but are listed in bite-sized headings. Candidates here are named and their positions summarized as a "yes" or "no". We learn that one candidate "supports human cloning" and the other does not. One "opposes judicial activism" and the other does not.

This is a cynical voter guide if ever there was one, and an insult to church-going voters, not to mention the candidates in question. It favors extremist partisan talking point language over a thoughtful, respectful, fair discussion of issues. The small print that says it is "approved for 501(c)3 distribution by Liberty Counsel and Liberty Legal Institute," but I will leave it to you to decide if the guide offers a clear endorsement for or against a candidate. Take a look (pdf).

[UPDATE: Rev. Chuck Currie, at the UCC blog, posts about Tooley's piece.]