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“Bullying The Pulpits: The IRS Threatens Church Leaders Who Talk About Politics,” Wall Street Journal
This op-ed by Opinion Journal Editor Brendan Miniter, which appeared in the Wall Street Journal on March 10, 2006, discusses an IRS investigation of two churches in Ohio, and highlights the danger such investigations pose for religious speech:
In response to this scourge, the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty - a Washington, D.C., public-interest law firm representing all faiths - has sent to every house of worship they could find a letter promising to defend these institutions (free of charge) if they are targeted by the IRS for political speech . . .
Most churches will be easily intimidated, not having the resources to drag the IRS into court. But now, with the help of the Becket Fund, they can . . .
Becket Fund spokesman Jared Leland argues that pastors cannot be forced to give up their right to free speech . . .
The danger here is that church leaders will cede the right to discuss the big moral subjects of the day in an effort to avoid touching on a political debate. As Mr. Leland notes, the line between what the IRS considers acceptable political discussion and what it considers an unacceptable endorsement of a candidate is "very fuzzy," so religious officials will err on the side of not attracting IRS scrutiny . . .