I’ve got nothing funny or snarky to say today, because over a hundred people have died and many more are still missing in Texas, and floods have caused deaths in New Mexico and North Carolina, and ICE has escalated, and the BBB is set to cause even more deaths over the next couple of years, and bad people who have done bad things are obscuring their crimes in ways that are horrifying and unsettling.
So to distract us from massive failures to promote the general welfare, we get news that the IRS will let churches endorse political candidates from the pulpit.
Do not be distracted by this.
It is a trap.
The Johnson Amendment, which is the rule that restricts religious organizations from endorsing political candidates, is not yet official. It has been proposed in a court filing, entered by Billy Long, commissioner of the IRS, in order to settle a case with the National Religious Broadcasters. It has not been accepted or decided.
As Rev. Monica Dobbins notes, this is part of a longer game by Christian nationalists to dismantle over 200 years of the separation of church and state. “Every time Christian nationalists have done something that they thought would ‘strengthen the church’ in the past few decades, it has not only failed but has actually served to weaken religiosity in America. That's because what they really want is not strength, but Power. Which is not the same thing.”
We aren’t going to comply in advance here. Because if it is not accepted, they WILL go after the ‘enemies’ who fell for it. (By which I mean the religious left.) And if it is, then we have bigger fish to fry, and we need to be prepared to fight a much larger fight for religious freedom.
Bottom line: Please don’t ask your minister to start endorsing candidates; it’s a distraction in the Gish gallop of a horrific timeline.
So watch what happens with this case.
AND.
Be VERY careful about what you demand from your religious professionals. Trust that they are watching what they can and cannot do.
And more, trust that they watch the news too, and worry too, and want to react to everything too, and know that they weigh their responsibility to you and the moment and the world.
I’ve probably written about this before, but as a reminder: our role is bigger than reporting the news. Our role is bigger than explaining the news. Our role is providing spiritual grounding, and comfort, and motivation, and connection, and faith building, and life-saving tools so you can meet the moment as well-equipped mentally and spiritually. We are conveners and muses and storytellers and helpers and healers and organizers and collectors. We will meet the moment, and Love Will Prevail.
Let us do this work.
Remember the things you most need to do, right now.
Keep your eyes on the prize. Hold on.
Correct. We DON’T want to endorse anybody running for any office, local, state, or national. To do so would go against inclusiveness, alienating anyone who had a different candidate or a different viewpoint in mind! For any church or congregation within it to endorse a candidate says, in my view, that their focus is on the political, not the religious or - more importantly - the humanitarian side of things. Personally, I will not be tricked into this trap for someone else’s gain. Thanks, Rev. Kimberley, for naming this and putting it in perspective.