About a month ago, in a now-infamous speech, Tom DeLay was secretly taped talking to the Family Research Council about his plans to use Terri Schiavo to help advance the conservative movement. Though the comment was lost in the shuffle, DeLay mentioned, almost in passing, his opposition to a federal tax-law provision that prohibits churches from engaging in partisan political activities. He assured the FRC, “We’re trying to repeal” the law, but added, “It’s “very difficult to do that.”
As it turns out, it’s about to get even tougher.
The bill is called the Houses of Worship Free Speech Restoration Act (H.R. 235). Up until now, Republican supporters of the legislation have hoped widespread support in evangelical Christian communities would be enough to push the bill through, at least in the House. It’s ironic, therefore, that the Southern Baptists will probably be responsible for killing the proposal outright.
The Southern Baptist Convention’s public policy entity has withdrawn its support for a bill it says no longer protects the free speech rights of churches.
The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission announced April 25 it would not back the latest version of the Houses of Worship Free Speech Restoration Act, H.R. 235, because of revisions the ERLC sees as increasing the likelihood of government intervention in churches and other religious bodies.
Unlike previous versions sponsored by Rep. Walter Jones, R.-N.C., the version he introduced in this Congress does not allow political views expressed by religious leaders or members to be distributed beyond those in attendance at the service in which they are made. H.R. 235 also has new language saying such banned dissemination would include a “mailing that results in more than an incremental cost to the organization and any electioneering communication.”
The old version of the bill was beaten badly in a floor vote, so proponents scaled it back to make it easier for religious leaders to endorse candidates from the pulpit, but little else. Apparently, John McCain said he’d back the legislation if it included these changes. Supporters got McCain, but lost the Southern Baptists.
That’s the rub when it comes to making the religious right happy: the movement doesn’t compromise.