LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY wyldraven)

Religious Right Promotion Of Church Electioneering May Be Part Of Third-Party Presidential Plan, Says Au's Lynn

[...] Five Religious Right organizations have joined forces to advise religious leaders on the role of religion in politics, but the advice they are offering is flawed and should be ignored, says Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

In a joint letter Oct. 1, the Alliance Defense Fund, Focus on the Family, the Family Research Council, Concerned Women for America and the James Madison Center for Free Speech attacked Americans United for allegedly intimidating evangelical pastors who want to speak out on social issues.

“The groups’ claim,” said Americans United Executive Director Barry W. Lynn, “is completely bogus. It is an attempt to distract attention from the real issue the Religious Right’s campaign to build a church-based political machine.

“No one,” he continued, “disputes that pastors may speak out on social, political and moral issues. What federal tax law does not allow is electioneering for candidates by churches and other tax-exempt organizations.” [...]

The Religious Right’s “guidelines” include a chart of do’s and don’ts asserting that church distribution of voter guides is permissible. In fact, the IRS warns churches not to distribute voter guides that are biased or that examine a narrow range of issues.

One IRS document warns, “Although any document that identifies candidates and their positions close in time to an election has the potential to result in political campaign intervention, preparation or distribution of voter guides, because of their nature, present a particular risk for non-compliance.” [...]