Too Progressive

I’ve written several times on my strong  belief that no religious institution should be tax exempt (although not so much recently), but in light of this story regarding the Catholic churches decision to endorse John McCain over Barack Obama, I want to ask again: WHY THE HELL ARE CHURCHES STILL TAX EXEMPT??

In Scranton, Pa., every Catholic attending Mass this weekend will hear a special homily about the election next month: Bishop Joseph Martino has ordered every priest in the diocese to read a letter warning that voting for a supporter of abortion rights amounts to endorsing “homicide.”

“Being ‘right’ on taxes, education, health care, immigration and the economy fails to make up for the error of disregarding the value of a human life,” the bishop wrote. “It is a tragic irony that ‘pro-choice’ candidates have come to support homicide — the gravest injustice a society can tolerate — in the name of ‘social justice.’ ”

Once again, the reason churches are still tax exempt would be because……?????????

I realize this story is a few days old, but in light of Hillary Clinton speaking out against Barack Obama’s pastor recently, I think it’s definitely worth reading, rereading and passing around.

There’s a reason why Hillary Clinton has remained relatively silent during the flap over intemperate remarks by Barack Obama’s former pastor, Jeremiah Wright. When it comes to unsavory religious affiliations, she’s a lot more vulnerable than Obama.

You can find all about it in a widely under-read article in the September 2007 issue of Mother Jones, in which Kathryn Joyce and Jeff Sharlet reported that “through all of her years in Washington, Clinton has been an active participant in conservative Bible study and prayer circles that are part of a secretive Capitol Hill group known as the “Fellowship,” aka the Family. But it won’t be a secret much longer. Jeff Sharlet’s shocking exposé, The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power will be published in May.

Glenn Greenwald has an awesome column up on Salon pointing out that the hatred and anti-American sentiments expressed by right wing fundies, and more specifically Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell are comparible and even worse than Jeremiah Wright’s.

Ross Douthat and Ezra Klein are arguing about whether Jeremiah Wright’s statements are comparable to those of Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson and John Hagee’s. To argue that they’re not comparable, Douthat — like most people commenting on this raging controversy — conflates two entirely separate analytical issues:

(1) Given their close and long-standing personal relationship, does Wright merit more scrutiny vis-a-vis Obama than white, radical evangelical ministers merit vis-a-vis Republican politicians? and,

(2) Are the statements of white evangelical ministers subjected to the same standards of judgment as those being applied to Wright’s statements?

It’s definitely worth your time to check out the full article. I especially loved the closing paragraph:

[...]hordes of similar, America-hating white Christian ministers, are celebrated as cherished figures among the very same right-wing faction feigning such outrage and offense over Wright’s far more mild statements. White, right-wing Christian evangelical rage against America is understandable, respectable, and noble. Liberal black Christian anger towards America is scary, subversive, and despicable.

Via the Obama campaign’s YouTube page:

Barack Obama speaks in Philadelphia, PA at Constitution Center, on matters not just of race and recent remarks but of the fundamental path by which America can work together to pursue a better future.

[h/t VB Dems]

STOP PLAYING POLITICS WITH RELIGION!

I have long wondered whether this law was ever actually enforced, especially after Mike Huckabee made an appearance/campaign stop at Jerry Falwell’s church in Lynchburg earlier this week.

Southern Baptist pastor Wiley Drake said Wednesday that he is being investigated by the Internal Revenue Service for endorsing GOP presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee in a press release written on church stationery.

Under federal tax law, church officials can legally discuss politics, but they cannot endorse candidates or parties without risking their tax-exempt status. Most who do so receive a warning.

Drake, a prominent pastor in the Southern Baptist Convention, said he received a 14-page letter from the IRS on Feb. 7.

On Aug. 11, Drake wrote a press release on letterhead from the First Southern Baptist Church in Buena Park that announced his personal endorsement of Huckabee and asked all Southern Baptists to get behind the candidate.

Americans United for the Separation of Church and State filed the complaint with the IRS, and Drake had the following to say about the situation:

“I think I’m perfectly within my rights and I am upset,” he said in an interview.

No sir, you’re not by any stretch within your rights. I realize the Constitution is something easily disregarded by the religious fundies of the right wing, but you are certainly NOT within your rights to mix politics and religion, and you’re certainly not within your rights to keep your tax exempt status if you do so. I commend the IRS and the Americans United for Separation of Church and State on this.