Howard Dean Threatens Churches
4/24/2006 7:05:00 AM
By Terry Phillips
-Family News in Focus
Head of the DNC tells churches to decide between politics and tax exemption.
If Howard Dean, the head of the Democratic National Committee, had his way he'd take away the tax-exempt status of churches that speak out on politics. At least that's what he recently told the Christian Science Monitor. Dean said, "The religious community has to decide whether they want to be tax-exempt or involved in politics." Brian Burch is with Fidelis, a Catholic Advocacy Group that objects to the comment.
"It's important to remember the intent of the First Amendment was to protect, not constrain, religious speech and faith-filled activism."
Fidelis accuses Dean of "blatant hostility" toward any religious group or church. However, Burch refrains from indicting the entire party.
"I think more and more you'll see Democrats moving away from him, particularly, as we've seen the attempt by Democrats to try to lure values-based voters over the last several years."
But Steve Crampton of American Family Association thinks the Dean comments do reflect the thinking of some liberals who fear the church.
"I wouldn't be surprised if Mr. Dean doesn't have a larger following, albeit a minority one, on this issue than we might otherwise suspect."
Hiram Sasser of the Free Market Foundation discounts the messenger but not the message.
"Obviously, this is just another Dean Scream. But it is a severe pressure from the left here to try to keep the church silent because the left knows that once the church speaks, the left is finished."
Sasser bases that prediction on surveys that show only one-out-of-four Christians is politically inclined. Even a spokesman for the left-leaning Americans United for Separation of Church and State thinks Dean's railing against politics in church is off-base. Robert Boston told Family News in Focus he'd tweak the complaint to target "partisan" politics because issue-based advocacy is okay under IRS rules.
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