By Mary C. Frances, Senior Missional Consultant
I have to admit that I was pleased and surprised to walk into a church in the upper Midwest last weekend and see the above bulletin board. Pleased because I am a bit of a politics junkie and at the same time, surprised because I am quite conscious of the role of church in politics. I think many people are sensitive about the relationship between church and politics. I remember quite vividly how, in 2001 when the US was about to go to war with Iraq, I preached on Augustine’s Just War Theory. One of my parishioners commented about my sermon on the way out of worship saying, “You can’t hit a home run every time.” I knew that what he really meant was, “Why are you talking about this in church?” Why, indeed?
This whole idea of the separation of church and state comes from a deep place in our history. After all, the first people to come from Great Britain to the shores of the US were searching for religious freedom. Our freedom from a government run church was codified in 1791 in the First Amendment which states “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” And fast forward to 1954, when Congress approved an amendment by Sen. Lyndon Johnson to prohibit 501(c)(3) organizations, which includes charities and churches, from engaging in any political campaign activity. That ban has been revisited over the years and it has, in fact, been strengthened.
So then what about this bulletin board? Well, it falls under what is permitted. Federal law does not restrict a church’s nonpartisan speech. In practice this means that a church may freely encourage its congregation to vote. It may also do other things that touch upon political matters, including:
- Providing members of the congregation with nonpartisan information about issues in an election.
- Organizing voter registration drives.
- Hosting candidates as speakers, provided that each candidate on the ballot is given an equal opportunity to participate.
- Holding discussions about the relationship between what the gospels asks of us and ballot issues.
Did you know that MapDash for Faith Communities is a tool that can support these non-partisan activities? In addition to the issue related map layers and data you hopefully already know about such as food insecurity, unemployment, cost of housing, risk of homelessness and more, MapDash can also provide information on elections, voting districts and data related to advocacy of issues directly related to the Gospel.
We at FaithX are committed to the separation of church and state, to free and fair elections and to the role of congregations in supporting everyone’s right to vote. We hope you will let us support your congregation in this vital goal. Email us at info@faithx.net