Sponsor of 'Free Speech Restoration' for Churches Remains Upbeat
by Bill Fancher
November 29, 2004
(AgapePress) - A bill that would allow churches the freedom to make political statements remains tied up in a House committee -- but the author of the legislation remains optimistic.North Carolina Congressman Walter Jones is the sponsor of the Houses of Worship Free Speech Restoration Act (HR 235). When it was first introduced, the measure was referred to the House Ways and Means Committee, where it remains. But the Republican legislator is not giving up on his bill, which he feels is a critical part of Americans' constitutional rights.
"What we have been trying to do with returning freedom of speech in our houses of worship for four years now, is so, so necessary," he explains, adding that it is critical that the government allow the First Amendment rights of pastors, priests, and rabbis and clerics to be returned to them.
Under law enacted in 1954, the Internal Revenue Service can rescind any church's tax-exempt status if it is found guilty of making political statements. That has happened only once, to an evangelical church in New York City that took out a full-page ad against then-President Bill Clinton.
HR 235 has more than 160 co-sponsors and, according to Jones, is continuing to gain support. But the threat of retaliation by the IRS has intimidated many pastors. Jones says the moral future of America is at stake.
"We might as well just put it on the line," the lawmaker says. "This is all about protecting the Judeo-Christian principles [that undergird] the moral foundation of America. And if we can't protect that moral foundation, then this civilization and this country known as America is going to be in deep, deep moral decay -- and it's going to be very difficult to save it."
Prior to 1954, churches were free to speak out on practically any and every topic without government limitations. That changed when Texas Senator Lyndon Johnson, who would later become president, marshaled the legislation through Congress.
