Well enough economics already, let’s get back to religion.
This Sunday, I attended a Catholic mass in memory of my father who died quite some time ago. This is an annual event that my mother really enjoys plus it gets the family to come together for awhile.
I must admit that the Catholic mass is one of the most mind numbing religious traditions I know. I was raised a Catholic and have quite a few masses under my belt but it still amazes me how dull, boring and inconsequential these things are. People attending act like robots, up, down, kneel, recite and the music – please.
Anyway, what caught my attention during the priest’s reading of announcements was his invitation and high recommendation to come hear a priest speak about how a good Catholic should vote in our upcoming national and local elections.
This brings up another interesting point which deals with a national challenge to an IRS law written in 1954 by Lyndon Johnson that tightened the language as to what a tax exempt entity really is and what it can do; specifically, that a tax exempt organization “does not participate in or intervene in any political campaign on behalf of or in opposition to, any candidate for political office”.
Last month, a number of religious ministers announced that they would defy the IRS law by openly preaching that parishioners should vote for John McCain and not Barack Obama. An organization that I support (Americans United for the Separation of Church & State) filed an official complaint to the IRS. There is also a bill (HR2275) making its way through Congress that would repeal the Johnson Ammendment.
The Catholic Church in Michigan is careful not to break the law by not naming candidates by name but they will urge parishioners to vote for the candidate that opposes abortion (McCain) as doing their Catholic duty. McCain used to be pro-choice but I guess principals don’t really matter when an election is at stake.
In Michigan, we are also voting to allow human embryos slated for the dumpster to instead be legally gifted to a research organization by the owners of the embryos; usually a couple that has undergone in-vitro fertilization procedures. The Catholic Church is obviously against the law and will urge its members to vote it down. It has been reported that many if not most Catholics in Michigan are for the law.
The battle against this stem cell law has been quite strange. In years past, the Catholic leadership among other religious denominations used the tenets of their religion to oppose the stem cell law but this time – no mention of religion at all. TV ads caution of mad scientists combining human embryos with that of animals just to see what happens and other over the edge reasons to vote no. The whole thing is very bizarre but who knows maybe their crazy arguments are actually effective with the great unwashed.
Back to the IRS law banning tax exempt organizations from political participation. Don’t get me wrong, individual religious ministers and priests can support whomever they want, just not as representatives of their churches like when they are preaching from the pulpit.
This Sunday, I attended a Catholic mass in memory of my father who died quite some time ago. This is an annual event that my mother really enjoys plus it gets the family to come together for awhile.
I must admit that the Catholic mass is one of the most mind numbing religious traditions I know. I was raised a Catholic and have quite a few masses under my belt but it still amazes me how dull, boring and inconsequential these things are. People attending act like robots, up, down, kneel, recite and the music – please.
Anyway, what caught my attention during the priest’s reading of announcements was his invitation and high recommendation to come hear a priest speak about how a good Catholic should vote in our upcoming national and local elections.
This brings up another interesting point which deals with a national challenge to an IRS law written in 1954 by Lyndon Johnson that tightened the language as to what a tax exempt entity really is and what it can do; specifically, that a tax exempt organization “does not participate in or intervene in any political campaign on behalf of or in opposition to, any candidate for political office”.
Last month, a number of religious ministers announced that they would defy the IRS law by openly preaching that parishioners should vote for John McCain and not Barack Obama. An organization that I support (Americans United for the Separation of Church & State) filed an official complaint to the IRS. There is also a bill (HR2275) making its way through Congress that would repeal the Johnson Ammendment.
The Catholic Church in Michigan is careful not to break the law by not naming candidates by name but they will urge parishioners to vote for the candidate that opposes abortion (McCain) as doing their Catholic duty. McCain used to be pro-choice but I guess principals don’t really matter when an election is at stake.
In Michigan, we are also voting to allow human embryos slated for the dumpster to instead be legally gifted to a research organization by the owners of the embryos; usually a couple that has undergone in-vitro fertilization procedures. The Catholic Church is obviously against the law and will urge its members to vote it down. It has been reported that many if not most Catholics in Michigan are for the law.
The battle against this stem cell law has been quite strange. In years past, the Catholic leadership among other religious denominations used the tenets of their religion to oppose the stem cell law but this time – no mention of religion at all. TV ads caution of mad scientists combining human embryos with that of animals just to see what happens and other over the edge reasons to vote no. The whole thing is very bizarre but who knows maybe their crazy arguments are actually effective with the great unwashed.
Back to the IRS law banning tax exempt organizations from political participation. Don’t get me wrong, individual religious ministers and priests can support whomever they want, just not as representatives of their churches like when they are preaching from the pulpit.
Let’s get back to basics which stipulate a separation between Church and State; one not interfering with the other.
I have always thought that if an organization does not pay any taxes but still uses what taxes provide like police and fire protection, they operate under the benevolent umbrella of those that pay taxes. I assumed, since they paid no taxes they did not earn a voice (vote) in how those tax supported services (government) were run or who ran them (politicians).
The people that are challenging the IRS law (Pulpit Initiative for the Alliance Defense Fund) state that their religion demands their participation in the political process when they see their country / society / community depart from the “Right Path” of godliness.
This puts us in an interesting dilemma. The recent political campaigns pandered to the religious right like at no other time in our history. They actively sought endorsements from various religious groups and made vague promises of “faith based initiatives” if they are elected. For all intents and purposes, politics and religion are already intertwined.
I don’t see how we can ban religious organizations from participating in our political process especially when the tenets of their specific religions call for social and political activism. The only clear solution to the dilemma is to lift their tax exemption status. The only organizations with tax exempt status would be true charities and organizations with no desire to affect our political scene.
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