Bill would alter limits on church politicking

Christian Century, Oct 17, 2001

A bill introduced in Congress recently would allow churches to spend 20 percent of their money on lobbying and up to 5 percent on campaigning for or against individual candidates without risk of losing their tax-exempt status. Congressman Phil Crane (R., Ill.) introduced the "Bright-Line Act of 2001," which would make clear how much churches can engage in political activities.

At present, churches are allowed to push political causes as long as such activities do not constitute a "substantial" part of the congregation's work--widely interpreted to be about 5 percent. "Given the state of confusion surrounding the activities allowed by religious organizations, I believe it's time that Congress draw a bright line between sanctioned and unsanctioned activities that religious groups can participate in," Crane said.

So far, Crane's bill has the support of two leading House Republicans--Majority Leader Dick Armey and Majority Whip Tom DeLay, both of Texas. The bill was referred to the House Ways and Means Committee, where Crane is the No. 2 Republican. The proposal is indirectly related to a bill sponsored by Republican Congressman Walter Jones of North Carolina. The Jones bill, which is supported by many conservative groups, is less specific but would also allow churches and other houses of worship to engage in political activities without losing their tax-exempt status from the Internal Revenue Service.

Crane spokesman Randy Skoglund said the bill "makes clear, very clear, to churches and government what actions church can take." Skoglund said the bill also takes the decision out of the hands of the IRS and judges, who have interpreted the law differently. The bill has the support of the Traditional Values Coalition.

But the Crane bill is opposed by a leading Washington watchdog group, Americans United for Separation of Church and State. Its executive director, Barry Lynn, said he opposes it as much as he opposes the Jones proposal because it would "corrupt" churches by turning them into "political action committees." He added, "I wouldn't quarrel with the idea of specifying the [appropriate] amount for lobbying, but the best percentage for partisan campaigning is zero."--RNS