First Church of the GOP

May 9, 2005

After having worked for years for an organization that covers religion, government, and politics, I thought I’d seen just about every combination of bizarre circumstances. The Rev. Chan Chandler has proved me wrong.

Some in Pastor Chan Chandler’s flock wish he had a little less zeal for the GOP. Members of the small East Waynesville Baptist Church say Chandler led an effort to kick out congregants who didn’t support President Bush. Nine members were voted out at a Monday church meeting in this mountain town, about 120 miles west of Charlotte.

[…]

During the presidential election last year, Chandler told the congregation that anyone who planned to vote for Democratic Sen. John Kerry should either leave the church or repent, said former member Lorene Sutton.

Before getting into what this is, I want to point out what it’s not. Some have argued that this might be problem with regards to separation of church and state. It isn’t. The First Amendment has nothing to do with a crazy pastor driving Democrats from his church.

It is, however, painfuly ridiculous and a possible legal problem with regards to federal tax law.

I’m not a theologian (though I play one on TV), but the very idea that a minister would drive out a church’s members for how they vote is absurd. Rev. Chandler had a choice: bring people together in worship or drive them apart based on partisanship. He chose the latter.

And then there’s federal tax law, which prohibits tax-exempt institutions (such as Chandler’s church) from intervening in a partisan political campaign. Does driving Dems from the membership rolls count as a violation? Maybe not — the law notes proximity to a campaign as being highly relevant. Section 26 U.S.C. 501 (c) (3) of the tax code states that an exempt organization may “not participate in, or intervene in (including the publishing or distribution of statements), any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office.”

Note, however, that Chandler used his pulpit to threaten parishioners who were thinking about voting for John Kerry before last year’s election. That is a textbook violation of tax law, so the church may face legal difficulties after all.

Chandler is trying to fix the mess he made, but it may be too late.

Calling it a “great misunderstanding,” the pastor of a small church who led the charge to remove nine members for their political beliefs tried to welcome them back Sunday, but some insisted he must leave for the wounds to heal.

The Rev. Chan Chandler didn’t directly address the controversy during the service at East Waynesville Baptist Church, but issued a statement afterward through his attorney saying the church does not care about its members’ political affiliations.

Refresh my memory — isn’t there a Commandment about bearing false witness?

This pastor is just one in many who pushes his political beliefs on his congregation. He should be sent packing and the churches tax excempt status should be revoked as a lesson to all. I would bet if the tables were turned you would have many Repub’s trying to revoke the status on the church who wanted it’s people to vote for Kerry.

  • You are absolutely correct regarding the application of Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3), and the consequent loss of federal tax exemption for the church’s receipts. In addition, for all of the approximately 400 members, Code Section 170 would prohibit them from claiming a deduction for their contributions to the church when each member calculates their federal tax liability. It seems to me that those members have a strong motive to fire this idiot who now is trying to lie his way out of the strong national spotlight he brought on that church.

    Let’s see if the IRS comes a knockin’ as swiftly as it did with the NAACP, or the church that John Kerry visited last October that was televised on C-SPAN. And its not just this East Waynesville church; the Roman Catholic Church in Boston denies communion to politicians who advocate abortion rights, and the one in Milwaukee denies communion to practicing homosexuals, and there are others. Do you think our theocratic Bush agencies will go after them, since the ones being harrassed are those who have not yet drank the Koo-Aid? Somehow I doubt it.

  • Sure, they don’t care about their members’ political affiliations. They welcome George Bush Republicans and Zell Miller Democrats.

  • Another take on this.
    I have a friend that grew up in a ministerial family and he has related to me that many times members of churches will split the congregation over religious doctrinaire. Then they will wait for a period of time and repeat the same tactic over and over again, until they end up with all the church property. To the victor go the spoils.
    I don’t know if this is the case here, but it bears some consideration.
    Either way, I have less and less respect for the religious institutions in this country

  • This is not representative of Christianity nor even the Baptist faith, this is one lone isolated bigot and should be dealt with accordingly.

  • I used to consider myself a crhistian, and I suppose I still do, but it seems that the reigning Christian Philosophy in this country has nothing to do with the teachings of Jesus. I am really beginning to think that America may never be the same again. We have embarked down a very dark road, that rewards visciousness, hypocrisy, and dishonesty, and unfortunately these rewards are given by the majority of the population of the US. Men like Chandler are condemned here but lauded in much larger circles. I feel that the fight for truth, honesty, equity, and above all reason and logic, is a losing battle, and I can’t think that if this continues that all who stay won’t become a slave to this way of life. I am presonally considering leaving (again) to live abroad. It makes me sad because I am essentially forced to choose to live in a country where my beliefs and desires are routinely trampled, or leave my family and friends. What a sad, sad state the US has gotten into.

  • I don’t think Rev. Chandler is an anomaly at all. In fact, I think he is the embodiment of Christianity in America today. Rev. chandler was just more blatant about it. Mainstream Christianity has embraced a far right-wing, extremist, agenda which has little, if anything, to do with the teachings of Christ. My own church, which has an official doctrine of neutrality, is essentially an arm of the GOP. I regularly hear our pastor instruct our congregation on the “right” way to vote and to “participate” in democracy. He just does so without saying vote for so and so. I feel like Christianity has been hijacked by mean-spirited, hypocrites. Are there any progressive Christians left? Are there more like me hiding in plain sight?

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