Bill Lifting IRS Ban On Church Politicking Gets Push In House.

Angered by Americans United's efforts to stop houses of worship from intervening in partisan politics, a group of House members is stepping up its effort to secure passage of a bill that would change the Internal Revenue Code to permit such activity.

Rep. Walter Jones (R-N.C.), the sponsor of the measure, appeared at a Washington, D.C., press conference Sept. 11 alongside leaders of several Religious Right organizations to announce a big push for the Houses of Worship Political Speech Protection Act (H.R. 2357), which he claims will restore "free speech" rights to churches.

The IRS currently prohibits all nonprofit 501(c)(3) organizations, including churches, temples, synagogues and other religious associations, from endorsing or opposing candidates for public office. Jones' bill, which has 55 cosponsors, would remove that prohibition for houses of worship.

Jones was joined at the event by Colby May, an attorney for TV preacher Pat Robertson's American Center for Law and Justice, and Kenneth Connor, president of the Family Research Council. Also attending was House Majority Whip Tom DeLay (R-Texas). The press conference, held at St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church on Capitol Hill, was cut short by word of terrorist attacks against the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington.

May accused Americans United of trying to intimidate churches. "It is the duty and responsibility of the church to speak out on moral issues of the day without the fear of incurring the wrath and heavy hand of the IRS," he said.

May and the ACLJ unsuccessfully defended the Church at Pierce Creek, a Binghamton, N.Y., congregation that lost its tax-exempt status after it ran newspaper ads attacking then-candidate Bill Clinton in 1992.

Americans United Executive Director Barry W. Lynn said May and the ACLJ have once again distorted the scope of AU's educational efforts. The organization, he said, has never told pastors that they may not speak out on moral or political issues but merely pointed out that the IRS does not allow churches to distribute material that favors certain candidates over others.

Last year, Americans United mailed letters to nearly 300,000 houses of worship nationwide, advising them not to distribute biased "voter guides" produced by the Christian Coalition. The guides are stacked to favor Republican candidates.

The congressional drive comes at a time when religious Americans are telling pollsters that they disapprove of church-based politicking. The poll, conducted by Gallup for The Interfaith Alliance, found that the overwhelming majority of those polled do not approve of churches or pastors endorsing candidates.

Asked if churches, synagogues and other houses or worship should endorse candidates, only 24 percent said yes, while 65 percent said no. The "no" responses were even higher when respondents were asked if clergy should endorse candidates. Twenty percent said yes, and 67 percent said no.

The poll also found that most clergy do not support church endorsement of candidates. Seventy-seven percent of clergy oppose the practice, while only 17 percent approve of it.

Most religious Americans also do not support distribution of "voter guides" in churches. The poll found 53 percent opposed to the practice, while 33 percent approved. Among clergy, the results were evenly split with 46 percent approving and 46 percent disapproving.

The poll, which was released Sept. 6, surveyed 303 members of the clergy and 1,202 "people of faith." For purposes of the poll, "people of faith" were defined as individuals who have attended a religious service within the past month and who agreed that religion was "very important" to them.

In other news about religion and politics:

* Texas pastor Rick Scarborough may be taking aim at state judges. Scarborough, head of the group Vision America, held a fund-raiser recently during which an associate, attorney Mark Lanier, said that bad judges should be removed from office.

The Houston Press reported that one judge Scarborough has in his sights was at the event. Patricia Hancock incurred Lanier's wrath when she overturned a $2.3 million judgment one of his clients had won. The paper reported that Lanier is recruiting a candidate to run against Hancock, a judge in the 113th District Court.

Scarborough denied having political intentions but told the Press, "Our position will always be moral in nature. That is not to say that we may not put out voter guides and let people see what people believe on issues, but we won't be endorsing any candidates."

Scarborough managed to elect a number of his associates to municipal office in Pearland, Texas, a few years ago. However, many of them were later caught up in scandals or were voted out of office.

* The Rev. Jerry Falwell is gearing up to help the Republicans maintain control of the House of Representatives. In a recent fund-raising letter, Falwell said he wants to raise $11.4 million "to keep pro-family control of Congress in 2002."

According to Falwell, failure to donate means the Republicans will lose the House, and President George W. Bush will serve only one term. If that happens, he wrote, "[W]e'll be right back where we were in 1992 ... this time very likely with Al Gore or Hillary Rodham Clinton in the White House and liberal majorities in both houses of Congress."