OUT & ABOUT: When Politicians Go To Church

One conversation that’s been going on much more than usual during this campaign season is whether or not folks in pulpits should have any say in our politics.

Because churches are nonprofit organizations, they’re given a special look when it comes to taking a stand on just about anything. Even if it’s something like “Which do you like more, grape or strawberry jam?,” advocating a flavor can lead to a visit from the IRS.

Not to say churches follow that rule to the letter. During the heyday of the Christian Coalition … and even to this day, if we’re honest with ourselves, churches, particularly those giving us that Old Time Religion from the right, have been giving out voter guides, and in some cases telling people not only how … but whom to vote for.

So when I went to Bright Hope Baptist Church in North Philadelphia last week for a rally sponsored by the local chapter of the National Action Network and headlined by NAN’s founder, the Rev. Al Sharpton, I thought about the ethics of holding what was essentially a political rally in a church.

The rally was part of an initiative among churches across the nation called “Souls to the Polls”. As part of this, ministers did voter-registration drives, educated parishioners to new voting laws including Pennsylvania’s own voter-ID law and otherwise entreated their flocks to get to the polls on Nov. 6.

Now to the naked ear, this sounds like politics coming from the pulpit. As I mentioned earlier, it happens all the time, although we don’t want to admit it. But since everyone’s paying attention this time, the question becomes, “Would this pass the 501(c)(3) test?”

Bright Hope’s pastor, the Rev. Kevin Johnson, believed it would. “We can’t tell them who to vote for,” he said. “But we can tell them to vote.”

But while Johnson wasn’t politicking, others were.

In his remarks, Sharpton said it was important for the African American community to be engaged at the polls because of what has happened since 2010, a time when they weren’t engaged. While it was nice to celebrate the history-making achievement of President Obama’s election, some in the African American community stayed at the party too long, Sharpton said. Because of this, the political hangover has been really nasty, he said.

“They didn’t beat us; you didn’t fight,” Sharpton said. “It’s one thing to get whipped. It’s another thing not to show up to the fight. And because you stayed home, the Tea Party took over the Congress and they blocked everything this President tried to do.”

In addition to blocking the President’s initiatives, sitting 2010 out has also led to a boldness on the part of the opposition, a boldness that has resulted in attempts to change the rules of the poll, Sharpton said. In order to return to total power, GOP legislatures came up with laws like Pennsylvania’s voter-ID law, which Sharpton says was targeted at the coalition that brought President Obama to power: young people, seniors, African Americans and Latinos.

If nothing else, these well-financed, fairly extensive efforts should remind you of just how important your vote is, Sharpton said. “Why would they do all of this to stop you from voting unless it was important?” he asked. “If somebody’s trying to take something from you, it must be of value. If folk break in your house, they take valuables. So if any of you think voting doesn’t matter, why are they spending all this money to take something from you unless it matters to you?”

Among the folks at the altar for this event were Congressman Bob Brady and State Rep. Cherelle Parker. They both talked about how they hoped President Barack Obama would be given a second term in November.

And on that note, I say that Nov. 6 is Election Day. Get out and vote.

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