wfn.org | Politically active churches put tax status in jeopardy

[NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG]

Oct. 19, 2000 News media contact: Joretta Purdue ·(202) 546-8722·Washington
10-71B{480}

By United Methodist News Service

As U.S. citizens go through their four-year ritual of voting for a president
and other national, state and local officials, churches should take note:
Getting involved in politics can mean trouble with federal tax laws.

Most authorities agree that religious organizations may choose to exert
themselves as moral influences on society and government. However,
refraining from partisan politics is essential to staying out of trouble
with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), according to the general counsel
for the United Methodist Church's finance and administration agency.

"Lobbying for a candidate by a church is forbidden," said Mary Logan, the
chief legal counsel working for the denomination's General Council on
Finance and Administration (GCFA) in Evanston, Ill.

"Churches should not endorse candidates, should not send money to
candidates, should not invite only one candidate or one party to come in and
give a presentation, or hold a press conference," she stated emphatically.

Logan warned that the IRS is watching closely. During a previous election,
she said, a church that blatantly violated the principle of no campaigning
displayed a billboard and put an ad in a newspaper, "and they lost their tax
exemption." The courts have upheld that IRS decision, she added. 

She expressed the opinion that the IRS will be seeking to make an example
again. "No campaigning for a candidate. Period," she cautioned. "No lobbying
for a candidate."

Educating people about an election is OK, she said. This means providing an
objective, balanced presentation of the positions by all major candidates
running for the same office. That could take the form of a chart or listing
of candidates' positions on a particular issue or on several issues like
abortion, gun control, environmental concerns, or foreign or domestic
policy.

Such positions can be juxtaposed with the United Methodist Church's stated
policy on those issues, as found in the Social Principles and the Book of
Resolutions. 

Logan says providing charts or comparing candidates' voting records or
policy statements on the issues with those of the church is legitimate, as
long as at least all the major contenders in a race are represented. 

Another church agency has implemented this principle in presenting a
comparison of the platforms of the four major parties with United Methodist
policies. It is found in the September/October issue of Christian Social
Action and at www.umc-gbcs.org/platform_2000.htm. 

Sermons can be a concern as well, she noted. She explained that it is always
OK to preach on issues, but telling people how to vote or trying to persuade
people to vote for or support a particular candidate is questionable.

"The absolute safest thing for a pastor to do at a church is to [provide
information and] let people draw their own conclusions; the riskiest thing
to do is to publicly and loudly endorse a candidate and ask people to work
for that candidate in the church," she said.

To help congregations understand the pitfalls and avoid trouble, Logan has
posted a memorandum written for the National Conference of Catholic
Bishops/United States Catholic Conference by the organization's tax lawyer.
The memorandum can be accessed by going to the GCFA Web site at www.gcfa.org
and clicking on "political activity guidelines." This is a direct link.
Although all references are to Catholic congregations and groups, Logan said
the presentation is done by an expert and applies to all religious
organizations. The material is being offered by GCFA with permission.

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United Methodist News Service
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