Separation of Church and State...

The second amendment to the Constitution of The United States of America states that:

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances".

In the United States, it is common for churches to apply for tax exempt status from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). In order to qualify for tax exempt status, a church must follow several guidelines, including refraining from overt political messages, as outlined by IRC Section 501(c)(3) of the United States Code:

"...no substantial part of the activities of which is carrying on propaganda, or otherwise attempting, to influence legislation (except as otherwise provided in subsection (h)), and which does not participate in, or intervene in (including the publishing or distributing of statements), any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office".

On November 17th, 2005, the Los Angeles Times reported that the IRS had warned church leaders that a speaker at All Saints Church in Pasadena California had violated section IRC Section 501(c)(3) of the United States Code.

The warning, in the form of a letter dated June 9, 2005, from R.C. Johnson, Director of Examinations for the IRS's Exempt organizations division stated in part:

"Our concerns are based on a November 1, 2004 newspaper article in the Los Angeles Times and a sermon presented at the All Saints Church discussed in the article. The article entitled. "The RACE FOR THE WHITE HOUSE Pulpits Ring With Election Messages", states that the sermon, given on October 31, 2004 to a congregation of 3500, delivered a searing indictment of the Bush administration’s policies in Iraq, criticism of the drive to develop more nuclear weapons, and described tax cuts as inimical to the values of Jesus..."

The letter further states that the IRS has begun a tax inquiry, the outcome of which will determine whether or not All Saints of Pasadena will retain tax exempt status. All Saints leadership was requested to reply to Pat Schneiders, an Exempt Organization's Specialist with the IRS within 15 days or face an "examination of (their) records or religious activities".

On October 11th, 2005, All Saints Attorney Marcus Owens replied to Ms. Schneiders via the legal counsel of Caplin and Drysdale, stating that:

"The Church believes that the IRS's concerns are unsupported by the facts and circumstances of the event at issue, the guest sermon on October 31. More importantly, this case implicates First Amendment principles of religious freedom and freedom of speech; indeed, it threatens core values which the congregation of the church holds dear. The congregation has asked me to assure you that it has a longstanding policy against campaign intervention and will continue to maintain it's nonpartisan stance. However, it also takes pride in a long history of active involvement in the community and a steadfast and theologically-based commitment to alleviating poverty and promoting equality, social justice and peace. The Church cannot, and will not, waiver from that commitment... The congregation was hoping that the case would end at church tax inquiry level, but it understands that the IRS has decided to proceed with an examination."

Ouch!