SPRINGDALE, Ark. (ABP) — Americans United for Separation of Church and State, a religious-liberty watchdog organization, filed a complaint July 20 with the IRS against the 14,000-member First Baptist Church of Springdale, Ark., the largest church affiliated with the Arkansas Baptist State Convention, for what it considers partisan politics, according to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
The church's pastor, Ronnie Floyd, preached a patriotic sermon July 4 during which he encouraged members to “vote God” in the November election. Floyd did not mention either President Bush or Democratic challenger John Kerry by name, nor did he indicate which candidate he personally favored. Rather, he urged members to vote “by the authority of God's Word, Christian values, convictions and beliefs.”
But Americans United claims the message crossed the line of the Internal Revenue Service Tax Code for tax-exempt churches, which prohibits churches from participating or intervening in political campaigns on behalf of or in opposition to any candidate for public office.
“Pastor Floyd's presentation seemed more like a Bush campaign commercial than a church service,” said Barry Lynn, Americans United executive director, in a statement. “His sermon was clearly intervention in the campaign on behalf of Bush.”
During the sermon in question, Floyd — a prominent Southern Baptist leader — called the November presidential election “one of the most critical elections in U.S. history. … Rarely have we seen two candidates so diametrically opposed in their convictions.”
Contrasting the candidates' stands on same-sex marriage, Floyd stated, “One candidate believes marriage is a God-ordained institution between one man and one woman and has proposed a constitutional amendment protecting marriage.” A photo of Bush appeared on a screen behind Floyd as he spoke those words.
“The other candidate was one of only 14 U.S. senators to vote against the Defense of Marriage Act of 1996,” Floyd continued as a photo of Kerry appeared. Similarly, he contrasted the candidates' views on abortion and other issues.
An IRS tax guide for churches notes it is acceptable for churches to speak out on moral issues, provide non-partisan voter-education guides and encourage people to vote, but they must not “favor one candidate over another.”
An IRS press release noted, “Even activities that encourage people to vote for or against a particular candidate on the basis of nonpartisan criteria violate the political campaign prohibition of section 501(c)(3),” the part of the tax code that governs churches and other not-for-profit organizations.
Americans United filed a similar complaint July 15 against televangelist Jerry Falwell, also a Southern Baptist, saying Falwell endorsed Bush in a July 1 e-mail to supporters and also urged followers to send money to a political-action committee that supports Republican candidates.
The IRS has not acted on either complaint.
Floyd, who was vacationing, was unavailable for comment. He told his staff to refer questions about the Americans United complaint to Alan Damron, an associate pastor of the Springdale church.
“There is no time in the sermon where Ronnie endorses by name any candidate over the other,” Damron said. “He does not even take a position personally.”
He said the church stands by the sermon and believes it does not violate the IRS codes. He said the church is simply proclaiming God's truth and encouraging people to live by biblical values and principles.
Damron said they have consulted with Matthew Staver, president and general counsel of Liberty Counsel, which works with Jerry Falwell Ministries. Staver told them the sermon in no way violates any IRS code.
“We believe what we are saying and doing is right,” Damron said. “Our church believes in not only the preaching of the Word but the living of the Word. The issue is the truth of God's Word.”
Brent Walker, executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee, a Washington-based religious-liberty group that advises church on political involvement, disagreed with Damron's assessment, saying Floyd's sermon was a violation of IRS rules.
“He clearly violated the letter and spirit of the ban on electioneering,” Walker said. “About he only thing he did not say was 'Vote for Bush.' But those three words would have added nothing to the sermon. Even a child would understand whom the sermon urged his listeners to vote for.”
While Floyd's supporters might argue his comparison of candidates was nothing more than a “multimedia voter guide,” Walker said, “it would be hard to make the case that it is accurate and unbiased.”
The American Center for Law and Justice did not respond immediately to a request for comment.
Larry Page, executive director of the Arkansas Faith and Ethics Council, said: “Without reviewing the whole thing in it's entirety, I can't say definitively whether Floyd violated IRS Code. I know only what I've read in the Democrat-Gazette. Even if I knew the full context, the determination is very subjective and requires one making the determination to know the intent of the person who may have crossed the line.
“I will say it is an area we need to take very seriously,” said Page, the primary Arkansas Baptist spokesperson on moral, ethical and legislative issues. “I understand the frustration conservative Christians feel. I do think we are in a cultural war. I agree with Ronnie Floyd on that. The state our culture is in drives us to action.”
Page noted that some feel the IRS codes are unfair, “but it is the state of the law. We should not violate it.”
He said there are ways Christians can convey the message of where they stand without crossing the line. He said churches can urge their members to look at the candidates and where they stand on issues and then decide who to support based on Scripture and Christian values.
“We don't need to guide our people by the hand,” Page said. “We just need to encourage them to look at the issues and encourage them to vote.”
He said the IRS prohibition against partisan politics does not stop churches from speaking out on issues. “We are free and clear to talk about righteousness in social issues.”
Americans United watched the church's Webcast of Floyd's message and then filed the complaint after the Democrat-Gazette contacted them for comment about the sermon.
Prior to knowing the Democrat-Gazette had broken a story on Floyd's message, Page released an email that offered to assist churches in knowing how to speak out on moral issues without violating IRS codes.
“Pastors, church staff members, denominational employees or anyone else employed by a sectarian organization should do nothing that can be construed as partisan when serving in an official capacity or when viewed as speaking for the organization,” Page wrote. “If we explicitly or implicitly support or oppose a candidate for political office or a political party while in that official capacity, we not only might be violating the law, but we clearly put our reputations in jeopardy and diminish how others may see us in an ethical context.”
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