RNC's use of church directories poses hazard for houses of worship

By Melissa Rogers

August 2004

Little did we know that high-powered political operatives would one day take a keen interest in those dog-eared church directories in our kitchen drawers. As has been widely reported, the campaign to reelect President Bush and Vice President Cheney has produced materials informing their "coalition coordinators" that one of their "duties" is to: "Send your Church Directory to your State Bush-Cheney '04 Headquarters or give to a BC04 Field Rep."

The Associated Press recently reported that the "Republican National Committee confirmed it had asked Catholics who back Bush to give parish directories to the RNC as a way to identify and mobilize new voters."

There are some legitimate ways for political campaigns to try to reach religious people. Soliciting church directories isn't one of them.

Churches and other organizations that are tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code are absolutely prohibited from participating in any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for elective public office. Among other things, this means that a church cannot selectively provide its mailing list to a candidate or political party. To do so would jeopardize a church's tax-exempt status. A recent Religion News Service article also noted that "Federal Election Commission guidelines forbid 'membership organizations' from donating anything 'of value' to a political campaign unless they register as a political action committee," and that a church mailing list "could certainly be considered something of value," according to an FEC official.

Nonetheless, the Bush-Cheney campaign and the RNC have doggedly defended these tactics. They say they are not asking churches to turn their directories over to the campaign — instead, they are only asking individual church members to do so. Even if this is true, they are asking these individuals either to act unethically or to act in a way that could endanger their church's tax-exempt status. As a purely ethical matter, organizational members step over a line when they use group lists for purposes other than the organizational purpose without the group's prior approval. This notion has special resonance in the case at hand. When our brothers and sisters in Christ walked down the aisle, they joined a church, not a political party. As people of faith, we must respect and protect that sacred act.

If, however, a church member tries to avoid an ethical problem by seeking permission from fellow church members to turn the directory over to a particular campaign, it could then involve the church itself in ratifying the submission, thus running afoul of the tax code. Further, the FEC guidelines noted above raise some complex legal issues for churches.

RNC spokespersons also have tried to justify their tactics by saying that church directories are "public documents available to anyone, and making the request violates no law." It is true that campaigns and political parties themselves don't violate the law when they engage in these tactics — they just create a legal trap for churches to fall into. Political strategists are trying to eke out the margin of victory in this election wherever they can, and many frankly don't give a hoot about any collateral damage. Moreover, the RNC is wrong — church directories are not public documents available to anyone; they belong to the church and only the church. Indeed, for a campaign to tell people it is their "duty" to turn over their church directory and then list that "duty" as one of so many bullet points accompanied by specific deadlines is an affront to religion. These tactics dictate to religion rather than dialogue with it. They use religion rather than respect it.

Although RNC spokespersons claim that the information gleaned from these directories will be used for "nonpartisan voter-registration drives," this strains credulity. It also highlights the fact that these overtures are confusing and likely to prompt actions that will jeopardize churches' tax-exemptions.

Of course, these days it is only the rare religious person who is surprised when political parties ask him or her to do things that are completely inappropriate and even harmful to a religious body. What would be surprising and disappointing, however, is if church members follow these instructions.

After all, the most important reason for refusing to give our church directories to political campaigns is found in the Bible. Jesus said: "Render . . . unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's." The church is not a creature of the state or of any earthly power; it is a creature of God. Before and beyond November 2004, may we reject every entreaty that asks us to give to Caesar that which belongs to God.

Melissa Rogers is a visiting professor of religion and public policy at Wake Forest University Divinity School in Winston-Salem, N.C., and former BJC general counsel.