Allowing tax-exempt churches to take sides in political campaigns is a bad idea whose time has come, at least if you listen to some conservative Christian groups. They are supporting legislation by Rep. Walter B. Jones of North Carolina that would repeal a 48-year-old federal law prohibiting churches and other so-called 501(c)3 nonprofit organizations from endorsing or opposing candidates for public office.
The Jones bill, which has attracted 112 co-sponsors, is being sought to counter a supposed chilling effect that the law has had on clergymen who want to "speak out on the moral issues of the day," as one advocate put it.
The suggestion that American priests, pastors, rabbis and even mullahs are tongue-tied is laughable. Over the past half-century there has been abundant religious witness on everything from poverty to civil rights to globalization to the war against terrorism.
Nothing in the Internal Revenue Code prohibits religious groups and other charities from addressing these issues. They are, however, on notice that they could lose their tax-exempt status if they take sides in elections.
Even there, the Internal Revenue Service hasn't enforced the law with anything like an iron fist. In fact, churches sometimes serve as the sites of virtual campaign rallies. Conservative congregations tend to bless Republican candidates and causes; liberal (and African-American) ones tend to preach the Democratic gospel.
Indeed, a cynical argument for the Jones bill is that at least it would make honest people out of politically minded clergymen, by allowing them to dispense with the pretense that they're preaching about issues and not pushing candidates.
But the fact that the law is leniently enforced does not mean it should be repealed. The current restrictions at least force partisan-minded pastors to think twice about backing one candidate or party over another. And repealing those curbs could invite more blatant partisanship -- not to mention other legal and political complications.
If churches were allowed to endorse and provide resources for political campaigns, would they be bound by campaign-finance laws? Would public outrage over the use of church and charitable funds for politicking lead to pressure on Congress to repeal churches' tax-exempt status?
Rather than struggle with those questions, Congress should continue to keep partisan politics out of the pews -- at least when those pews are paid for with tax-exempt funds.
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