Church and State

I just found guidelines to churches and pastors in which it outlines how to discuss politics via the Missouri Right to Life. I am an advocate of the separation of church and state. Unfortunately, those lines are blurred in the United States. It is known that almost all churches are tax-exempt. They, however, cannot participate in political campaigns, but:

"Pastors and churches are free to discuss the positions of candidates on issues – including criticizing or praising them for their positions. This is called issue advocacy."

In other words, you can get away with discussing "moral" issues and stating that a candidate's stance on abortion, or stem cell research, or sex education is immoral. While they may not be endorsing a candidate directly, we can tell who they vote for. I find it an outrage that churches continue to be exempt from taxes. The very fact that there are guidelines that tell pastors and churches what they can get away with politically should be an indication that many churches are indeed political organizations.

I'm not questioning anyone's faith here, but religion has no place in government. They can be effectively used like political organizations, yet are exempt from being taxed!

One last link that I found entertaining from Saint Louis Abbey...one of the churches on the list of Missouri Right to Life sponsors. The article is titled "Why I Don't Preach Politics" written Oct. 28, 2008.

Here is a taste of the article and the hypocrisy within it:

"I understand that as your priest, it is not my job to tell you who to vote for. And I also understand that many good Catholics—good, loyal, loving, God-fearing, church-going, Catholics will weigh the issues and arguments of their parties and politicians and decide that the evil of abortion is outweighed by the evils at play in matters of immigration, health care, the economy…the War on Terror...” I understand that....But I don’t see how I can stand up here and preach on text which says, “love your neighbor as yourself.” Stand up here at this pivotal juncture in our nation’s history when so many Catholics find themselves so caught between so many weighty moral dilemmas—stand up here, preach on love of neighbor, and not point out that we as a nation have murdered 45 million children."

(Bold added by me)
http://www.stlouisabbey.org/publications/homilies/augustine20081026.pdf

Enjoy!