The Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) has announced it will hold another “Pulpit Freedom Sunday” on Sept. 27.

You might recall that during this event, the Religious Right legal outfit urges pastors to openly break the law by endorsing and/or opposing candidates from the pulpit. The group sponsored the first “Pulpit Freedom Sunday” on Sept. 28, 2008.

Thirty-three churches took part, […] Read More

A couple months ago, I blogged about a lively debate I attended about politics and the pulpit.

It was an afternoon bringing together people from the entire political spectrum. Participants on a panel, including AU Executive Director Barry W. Lynn, discussed a provision in federal tax law that prohibits tax-exempt, non-profit organizations – including religious institutions – from endorsing […] Read More

Sometimes, a good, old-fashioned debate is the best way to hash out a contentious public issue.

I attended an event like this yesterday at the National Press Club here in Washington, where Americans United Executive Director Barry W. Lynn participated in spirited (but polite) verbal bout over pulpit politicking.

The event was put on by the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), […] Read More

Some right-wing members of the clergy are getting upset over the election of Barack Obama. I mean really getting upset.

The story about the Roman Catholic priest in Greenville, S.C., who told parishioners that if they voted for Obama they could not receive communion has been all over the Web. (He has since been reined in by his superiors.) […] Read More

Tomorrow, the 2008 election will be over, and the staff at Americans United can finally breathe a sigh of relief.

That relief won’t be based on the election’s outcome, but rather from no longer having to advocate constantly against the excessive use and abuse of religion in this presidential election — an abuse committed by both the political left and […] Read More

Americans United has always taken heat from the Religious Right for allegedly turning in only “conservative” churches to the Internal Revenue Service for candidate endorsements from the pulpit.

This 2008 election season has been no different, especially since AU reported the Roman Catholic Diocese of Paterson, N.J., for Bishop Arthur J. Serratelli’s comparison of Democratic candidate Barack Obama to […] Read More

Over the past week, Americans United has mailed friendly letters to 100,000 clergy and lay leaders reminding them of the provisions of federal tax law and urging them not to endorse candidates from the pulpit.

We got word from a Baptist pastor in rural Georgia who received our missive, and apparently, wasn’t too happy to hear from us. He […] Read More

Yesterday Americans United reported six churches to the Internal Revenue Service for violating federal tax law by endorsing candidates from the pulpit. Five of the churches were taking part in the so-called “Pulpit Freedom Sunday” sponsored by the Alliance Defense Fund. (The sixth was inspired by it.)

Thirty-three churches participated in this reckless stunt. Americans United relied on media […] Read More

I can’t say I agree with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops all that often. The hierarchy’s stands for tax aid to religious schools and against reproductive rights, civil rights for gay people, stem-cell research and other issues are often wrong from my perspective.

That’s why I was surprised to see a recent Religion News Service essay on religion and […] Read More

Yesterday Americans United asked the Internal Revenue Service to investigate a Warroad, Minn., church whose pastor told congregants in a sermon that no Christian can vote for Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama.

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune picked up on the story today. Reporter Pat Doyle interviewed Pastor Gus Booth of Warroad Community Church, and the paper reprinted the entire text […] Read More