Freepreach.org - Protecting the Free Expression of All Religious Traditions
Equal-Opportunity Censorship
Eric Rassbach
Many partisans in the election think that the IRS or self-appointed “watchdog” groups like Americans United for Separation of Church and State (“AU”) target only “Democrat” or “Republican” houses of worship. But, at least recently, the IRS and AU appear to be equal-opportunity censors of core religious and political speech.
Typical of the partisan view is Powerlineblog, which appears to think that only “Republican” houses of worship are threatened with the loss of tax-exempt status. In fact, AU has targeted at least some churches it accuses of supporting Senator Kerry in
If commentators like Powerlineblog persist in casting the issue as a partisan one, the truly bipartisan -- and equally unconstitutional -- harm of the current tax code will continue to be concealed. Religious liberals will continue mistakenly to believe that the rules do not harm them, and will persist in their support for (or at least indifference to) those rules. IRS and AU will continue their censorship by secretly threatening houses of worship of all persuasions with fines and other penalties, based on nothing but the content of their speech. Both sides in this election -- Republican and Democrat alike -- should support the truly non-partisan, freedom-loving position of free speech for all.