Some of our politicians and religious “leaders” may be unclear about the separation of church and state, but the IRS understands it loud and clear.
The IRS has, in no uncertain terms, put the kabosh on Christocrat church meddling with elections. After reviewing complaints about tax-exempt organizations’ electioneering during 2004, the IRS found 59, including 37 churches, had infringed IRS regulations.
It means that no longer can preachers urge their flocks to vote for candidate X, work for proposition Y, or donate to anything or anyone up for a public vote. Churches or any other non-profit organizations are likewise prohibited from such activities, or they risk the loss of their tax-exempt status.
Should make for interesting, more secular elections this year and in ’08, than they were in ’04.
The Daily Kos has some details, based on Associated Press reports, but if you want the news directly from the horse’s mouth, check this IRS press release or the actual IRS report (an Adobe PDF file).
While the IRS does not name any of the organizations involved, it’s a safe assumption that many of those 37 churches were probably stumping for Bush-Cheney and/or local Republicans.
I am now waiting for a vengeful religious right to tangle with the Tax Man. In their view, the IRS would obviously be a tool of the devil, secular humanists, and seditionist forces with a misguided interpretation of the Constitution.
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