Written by Don Byrd
A new survey from Pew Research suggests a growing number of Americans believe churches should express views on political questions of the day. 49% said yes in a survey released today (up from 43% who said so in 2010), while 48% said churches should stay out of politics (down from 52% in 2010). This result reverses the previous trend of decreasing Americans who want churches involved in political questions.
More striking, however, is the fact that a growing minority of Americans want churches to go as far as endorsing particular political candidates.
Most Americans continue to oppose the idea of churches endorsing particular candidates during political elections, with roughly twice as many people saying churches should not do this as saying they should (63% vs. 32%). Even on this question, however, there has been significant movement in the direction of more support for religious involvement in politics. In 2010, just 24% said churches and other houses of worship should come out in favor of one candidate over another, 8 points lower than in the current poll.
There is an enormous difference between using the pulpit to speak out on compelling issues of the day, and using it to pick sides in an electoral matchup. Speaking out on social and political issues allows the church to use its prophetic voice in holding accountable the government for the impact of its policies. When it is not being used to influence the outcome of a particular election, such a voice is powerfully important and clearly protected by the First Amendment’s free speech and freedom of religion guarantees.
Endorsing candidates is altogether different. There, the church runs the risk of becoming entertwined with political machinery, exploited by campaign operations, and enthralled by political power. Electioneering also runs afoul of IRS regulations governing 501(c)(3) entities like houses of worship, jeopardizing a congregation’s tax-exempt status.
The good news here is that a solid 2/3 majority of Americans still recognizes the danger of church electioneering. A decline in that number, however, is alarming. Those of us who understand that staying away from candidate endorsements is good for the church need to redouble our efforts to educate the church-going public on this issue. Campaign engagement, in addition to being unlawful for tax-exempt institutions is a kind of fool’s gold for houses of worship: it feels like empowerment, but in reality the attachment to political operations strips the church of its prophetic voice.
