Toto
September 4, 2006, 05:59 PM
Faith Groups Seek To Regain Clout (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/29/AR2006082901376.html)
. . .
But even as religion becomes a bigger player in national politics, D.C. ministers, former city officials and religious activists say the opposite has been true in the nation's capital, where the majority of houses of worship are black churches. . . .
But today, mayoral candidates skip key church-organized rallies. Ministers say it's easier to get a building permit for a bar than for a church. And a mayoral candidate recently told the Rev. Anthony Motley, president of the Council of Churches of Greater Washington, that same-sex marriage "isn't a church issue."
. . .
[Until 1980] Clergy openly endorsed candidates, and a reciprocal relationship developed, particularly when it came to city grant money, faith leaders say.
"I think under the [Marion] Barry administrations, the clergy were so tied into the administration and had received so many favors from it, that when it came time for the religious community to speak prophetically against Barry's antics, it could not," said A. Knighton Stanley, retiring senior minister at Peoples Congregational United Church of Christ.
Some faith leaders were courted because they had large congregations whose votes they could deliver. . . .
I think there are several violations of the IRS regulations listed in that article - pastors endorsing candidates from the pulpit, using church time and resources. Will anything be done?
. . .
But even as religion becomes a bigger player in national politics, D.C. ministers, former city officials and religious activists say the opposite has been true in the nation's capital, where the majority of houses of worship are black churches. . . .
But today, mayoral candidates skip key church-organized rallies. Ministers say it's easier to get a building permit for a bar than for a church. And a mayoral candidate recently told the Rev. Anthony Motley, president of the Council of Churches of Greater Washington, that same-sex marriage "isn't a church issue."
. . .
[Until 1980] Clergy openly endorsed candidates, and a reciprocal relationship developed, particularly when it came to city grant money, faith leaders say.
"I think under the [Marion] Barry administrations, the clergy were so tied into the administration and had received so many favors from it, that when it came time for the religious community to speak prophetically against Barry's antics, it could not," said A. Knighton Stanley, retiring senior minister at Peoples Congregational United Church of Christ.
Some faith leaders were courted because they had large congregations whose votes they could deliver. . . .
I think there are several violations of the IRS regulations listed in that article - pastors endorsing candidates from the pulpit, using church time and resources. Will anything be done?