Article: Evangelical churches accused of illegal political activities

Separation of church and state? Well, maybe not in the Buckeye State!hurch and state? Well, maybe not in the Buckeye State! -- John Curry

Canton Repository, January 16, 2006

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Local clergy from nine mainstream denominations have accused two evangelical churches of illegal political activities involving an Ohio candidate for governor and want the Internal Revenue Service to investigate, The Columbus Dispatch reported Monday.

The 31 religious leaders met Sunday night and signed a letter asking the IRS to determine if the churches should lose tax-exempt status over what they claim to be improper campaigning for Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell, a Republican.

The Rev. Rod Parsley of World Harvest Church in Columbus and the Rev. Russell Johnson of Fairfield Christian Church in Lancaster improperly used their churches and affiliated entities for partisan politics, according to the complaint to be faxed to IRS Commissioner Mark Everson.

The grievance asks the IRS to seek a court injunction “if these churches’ flagrant political campaign activities do not cease immediately.”

The clergy, from Christian faiths and Judaism, said they were acting individually and not on behalf of their congregations.

“For me, it’s church and state, not church in state and I really feel there are some churches in central Ohio crossing that line,” said Eric Williams, senior pastor of the North Congregational United Church of Christ in Columbus.

The complaint alleges that Blackwell was the only gubernatorial candidate showcased in church-sponsored events conducted by Parsley and Johnson. It also alleges that the evangelists’ voter-registration campaign was done to support Blackwell and “biased” voter education materials were distributed by the churches for Blackwell’s candidacy.

“You have a number of churches and charities involved with a number of road trips for Mr. Blackwell, all of which seem to be aimed at gaining him visibility for his political campaign,” said Marcus Owens, a former director of the IRS tax-exempt division who helped the clergy draft the complaint.

Mark Youngkin, a spokesman for Parsley, disputed the voter registration allegations in an e-mail to The Dispatch, saying the efforts were conducted “without regard to political affiliation.”

Johnson told the newspaper that his church and its affiliate, the Ohio Restoration Project, do not support candidates.

“It’s sad to see the religious left and the secular left forge an unholy alliance against people of faith,” Johnson said. “We have invited people to pray, to serve and to engage, and candidly, we will not be intimidated or bullied by these folks.”

John Green, a political science professor at the University of Akron, said the complaint was unusual because it wasn’t filed by watchdog groups that routinely monitor church and state issues.

“This complaint is detailed and complex enough that I think the IRS is going to say, ’We better look into this,”’ said Green, author of the book “Religion and the Culture Wars.”

Blackwell faces Attorney General Jim Petro and Auditor Betty Montgomery in the Republican primary.