If we repeal the laws, does it give a free hand to men like Pastors Hagee,
Jeffress, Robertson and others to spew unrestricted hatred towards others,
creating chaos and mess up America’s orderly life? Should we extend that kind of
free speech to men like Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, if he were to preach in the United
States?
Mike Ghouse
TEXAS FAITH: Why should the government say whether churches can preach
politics from the pulpit?
By Wayne Slater | 3:15 pm on August 19, 2014 | Permalink
When Christian conservatives gathered recently in Iowa to hear from
potential presidential candidates, nothing was a bigger applause line than the
idea of allowing politics to be preached from the pulpit. Iowa opens the
presidential nominating process with its first-in-the-nation caucuses. Plenty of
would-be Republican nominees were there a week ago – including Sen. Ted Cruz and
Gov. Rick Perry of Texas.
Religious leaders regularly preach moral issues, both those on the right
and the left. But partisan politics has been off limits from the pulpit since
the Lyndon B. Johnson administration. Houses of worship are granted tax-exempt
status. In return, they’re not allowed to endorse candidates. The Internal
Revenue Service is the agency is charged with enforcing the law and withdrawing
the tax-exempt status from any offending church. As a practical matter, the IRS
hasn’t pursued cases. That prompted a nonprofit atheist organization in 2012 to
file suit, demanding a strict separation of church and state. Last month, the
suit was dismissed after the IRS assured it “no longer has a policy of
non-enforcement against churches.”
Daniel Blomberg, legal counsel at The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty,
defended the church side against the lawsuit. In an interview with the on-line
site The Daily Signal, Bloomberg raises an issue that increasingly comes up in
election years: Should the government have any role limiting what a pastor says
in the pulpit during a religious service? So here’s where we are: A law aimed at
curbing partisan politics by houses of worship. An agency that’s supposed to
uphold the law, but isn’t. Considering the situation as it now stands, what
should be done? Should we repeal the law and regulations restricting what
pastors can say from the pulpit? Should we actively begin enforcing the law and
strip offending houses of worship of their tax-exempt status? Should we simply
do what we’re doing now and not enforce the law?
That’s this week’s Texas Faith question. Is it time to repeal the law
forbidding churches engaged in partisan politics from the pulpit? Our Texas
Faith panel of experts weighs in.
MIKE GHOUSE, President, Foundation for Pluralism and speaker on interfaith
matters, Dallas
I am in favor of enforcing the existing laws and pleased to submit my
understanding for consideration. The validity of a binding contract signed under
the influence of alcohol is always questionable, should a person’s decision to
vote a candidate under the influence of clergy be invalid? Does it amount to
losing one’s freedom?
A few years ago, I was browsing in a store for a pair of new glasses. The
lady behind the counter asked me if President’s Bush’s decision to hang Saddam
Hussein was right. I said no, the timing was wrong to hang him on the day of
Christmas like festival of Muslims. I don’t look anything like Saddam Hussein;
but she pursued the inquiry as if I was his brother and would have sympathies
for him. Finally, I asked her about her opinion, which she was anxious to
answer, “My pastor told me to support the president, the Bible calls for it” I
said really? Let me bring the Bible from my car, and please show me where it is
written. She protested the need for that and wanted to end the conversation with
“I believe my pastor.”
The Clergy from the pulpit can positively or negatively influence a large
number of congregants. There is nothing wrong with that, but it kills the
individual’s spirit through undue influence. The idea of a deliberated vote
ensures it was exercised freely for us to remain a free people. We are yet to
realize the full potential of the wisdom of our founding fathers and what is
encapsulated in our constitution – that Congress has no business in promoting or
discouraging any religion to go with all men are created equal.
If we repeal the laws, does it give a free hand to men like Pastors Hagee,
Jeffress, Robertson and others to spew unrestricted hatred towards others,
creating chaos and mess up America’s orderly life? Should we extend that kind of
free speech to men like Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, if he were to preach in the United
States?
Thank God during the Gaza crisis, I wrote, “The conflict should not tear
the Jewish and Muslim Americans apart; instead it should bring them together to
build a cohesive America, and hopefully cohesive societies across the world
where no human has to live in fear of the other. (http://foundationforpluralism.blogspot.com/2014/08/sanity-prayers-for-american-jews-and.html
)
I visited several Mosques during the month of Ramadan, and in no place did
they spill hatred towards Jews, but prayed for the victims and prayed for sanity
to prevail, what a blessing, that is what a place of worship ought to be. I did
not get a chance to visit churches and synagogues to see if there was any hatred
spilled there. We do have the freedom to say whatever we want to say, but if
that freedom robs others freedom, that is not freedom anymore. We should retain
and enforce the laws on the books.
To see all the opinions of our panelists, please visit Dallas Morning News
http://dallasmorningviewsblog.dallasnews.com/2014/08/texas-faith-so-why-should-the-government-be-allowed-to-restrict-politics-preached-from-the-pulpit.html/#more-43122
Thank
you
mike
Mike Ghouse
...............................................................................................................................
Mike Ghouse is a public speaker, thinker, writer and a commentator on Pluralism at work place, politics, religion, society, gender, race, culture, ethnicity, food and foreign policy. All about him is listed in several links at www.MikeGhouse.net and his writings are at www.TheGhousediary.com and 10 other blogs. He is committed to building cohesive societies and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day.
mike
Mike Ghouse
...............................................................................................................................
Mike Ghouse is a public speaker, thinker, writer and a commentator on Pluralism at work place, politics, religion, society, gender, race, culture, ethnicity, food and foreign policy. All about him is listed in several links at www.MikeGhouse.net and his writings are at www.TheGhousediary.com and 10 other blogs. He is committed to building cohesive societies and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day.
