Halftime Hope Posted July 2, 2015 Share Posted July 2, 2015 I have been in a church (Southern Baptist) where a certain presidential candidate was publicly and unabashedly endorsed, and there were consistent references (some more overt than others) about which was the "right" party to be supporting. Churches around here do it all the time. They either don't know or don't care about the prohibition against endorsing. And I'm not talking about AA churches. They might do it, but I don't have any first hand knowledge or reliable sources about those like I do with majority Caucasian churches. I don't know whether to be glad or sad that your experience is different from mine. LOL! (Actually, I'd prefer they lived within the law.) And I'm very much in favor of churches steering people to objective resource material when asked and letting attendees draw their own conclusions. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeachyDoodle Posted July 2, 2015 Share Posted July 2, 2015 I have been in a church (Southern Baptist) where a certain presidential candidate was publicly and unabashedly endorsed, and there were consistent references (some more overt than others) about which was the "right" party to be supporting. Churches around here do it all the time. They either don't know or don't care about the prohibition against endorsing. And I'm not talking about AA churches. They might do it, but I don't have any first hand knowledge or reliable sources about those like I do with majority Caucasian churches. Wow, really? From the pulpit? I know we're in the same area, and I don't think I've ever seen this. Not from the pulpit anyway. People here are generally pretty open about their political leanings (you don't have to guess which side our pastor is on, for example) but I've never heard candidates endorsed. Not saying I don't believe you (not like I've been in THAT many churches, anyway), but I'm just surprised. Or maybe I'm just oblivious. :D To the thread in general: Does anybody know how this line is drawn, legally? Someone upthread was saying churches are still allowed to teach on social issues (abortion, etc.) as long as they don't endorse any candidates. So is that the line? Everything's good, just don't name names? I'm just curious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted July 2, 2015 Share Posted July 2, 2015 To the thread in general: Does anybody know how this line is drawn, legally? Someone upthread was saying churches are still allowed to teach on social issues (abortion, etc.) as long as they don't endorse any candidates. So is that the line? Everything's good, just don't name names? I'm just curious. When in doubt, I go directly to the IRS: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p1828.pdf 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pam in CT Posted July 2, 2015 Share Posted July 2, 2015 When in doubt, I go directly to the IRS: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p1828.pdf Thanks, Jane. I wouldn't call that link riveting reading, but it does answer a lot of the questions raised in this thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pawz4me Posted July 2, 2015 Share Posted July 2, 2015 Wow, really? From the pulpit? I know we're in the same area, and I don't think I've ever seen this. Not from the pulpit anyway. People here are generally pretty open about their political leanings (you don't have to guess which side our pastor is on, for example) but I've never heard candidates endorsed. Not saying I don't believe you (not like I've been in THAT many churches, anyway), but I'm just surprised. Or maybe I'm just oblivious. :D To the thread in general: Does anybody know how this line is drawn, legally? Someone upthread was saying churches are still allowed to teach on social issues (abortion, etc.) as long as they don't endorse any candidates. So is that the line? Everything's good, just don't name names? I'm just curious. Yes, from the pulpit. And the others I know of for a fact were up in the foothills. We have friends and family up that way. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.