Breaking the Law: Church Style

This story was tucked away in The Washington Times over the weekend, but it should put ministers and church leaders on notice.

Churches are, under American law, non-profit organizations (501(C)3) that must comply by particular guidelines to maintain their tax-exempt status. This status allows them to collect tax-deductable donations, and it means they do NOT have to pay taxes on their income. This status is offered to a wide variety of organizations, so it is not particular to churches, but it benefits churches tremendously because they can use more of their donations for church activities as opposed to shipping them off to the sink-hole in Washington, D.C.

As a condition to receiving this status, these NPOs must not engage in political activity. They cannot raise funds for politicians, donate funds to politicians, leaders cannot endorse political candidates, and they cannot organize on behalf of political parties or candidates. They can be politically active by taking clear positions on political issues, educating the public about politics, and even (if I am not mistaken) by registering voters, but when they begin to show clear partisan or candidate preferences, they put their status at-risk with the Internal Revenue Service.

According to the Times, during and after the 2004 election cycle, more than 100 complaints were filed with the IRS regarding churches and other NPOs that unacceptably skirted, or in some cases plunged over, the legal lines. The IRS completed 82 investigations, fined one group, is moving to take away the tax-exempt status from three groups, and sent 55 organizations (including 39 churches) letters of warning regarding illegal activity. According to the IRS, churches regularly violated the law by endorsing candidates, inviting candidates to social functions, or even by opening up the pulpit to candidates.

Not only is such activity illegal if churches want to maintain their tax-exempt status, I would argue it is bad for the church in general. Becoming overly connected to a party or a candidate can spell trouble for the church if things fall apart.

The best example in recent American history is Billy Graham's relationship with the Nixon White House. Graham was not terribly politically involved until Nixon became president. He made appearances with Nixon and was viewed, in some respects, as Nixon's friend and pastor. When the Watergate Affair destroyed the Nixon administration, not only did it damage the politicians, Graham was a public relations casualty as well.

Churches must ponder the consequences of tying themselves to parties and candidates. If there is a hint of a possibility that the Church's primary mission of spreading the gospel might be damaged, the Church should simply refrain.