Parsley's no sage: avoid pulpit politics.

An emerging figure on the Religious Right stage has unveiled a new--and especially nefarious--scheme for mixing religion and politics.

Pastor Rod Parsley, a kind of Jerry Falwell wannabe from Ohio, is organizing pastors ostensibly around the issue of opposing same-sex marriage. Parsley helped spearhead efforts to energize Buckeye State evangelical clergy in advance of a vote in November on a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. It passed easily.

Now Parsley is exporting his political model to other states. He recently turned up in Texas to stand alongside Gov. Rick Perry during a bill-signing ceremony.

Houses of worship have the right to engage in issue advocacy. But Parsley apparently has much more in mind. In Ohio, he and his allies engineered a number of appearances for Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell, closely associating him with the effort to pass the gay marriage ban. Blackwell, it just so happens, is running for governor.

Blackwell faces several opponents in the GOP primary. He's eager for Religious Right support. Parsley and his pals believe they can deliver that bloc, hence the collaboration.

A similar dynamic is unfolding in Texas. There, Perry faces a primary challenge from popular Texas Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn. Perry wants to nail down the Religious Right vote to tend off Strayhorn, so he invited Parsley to watch him sign bills requiring minor girls to get parental permission before obtaining abortions and certifying a ballot initiative on a same-sex marriage ban in Texas.

Thus a pattern emerges. Elected officials seeking higher office or reelection turn to Parsley for help. Parsley, while claming to be organizing pastors on issues, gives those political hopefuls visibility and a de facto endorsement.

This is troubling for several reasons. Chief among them is that it appears to be an effort to skirt federal tax law. The Internal Revenue Code does not permit churches to endorse or oppose candidates. That appears to be what Parsley and the ministers who work with him are trying to do.

In Texas, Perry signed the bills in a gymnasium of a church school. The ceremony was organized by the state Republican Party and had all the trappings of a campaign event. Party officials even planned to film it for use in Perry reelection commercials but backed off once Americans United complained.

Parsley and his supporters have a simple goal: Get the Republican candidates they back before Religious Right voters. Help them win elections. Demand far-right policies in return.

Churches in Ohio, Texas and elsewhere need to be careful. Parsley and company are playing a dangerous game with this mixture of partisan politics and pulpits. Pastors would do well to be wary when he comes to call.