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BARROW JOURNAL
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2008
Bethlehem pastor takes on IRS in free speech battle
FREE SPEECH BATTLE
Bethlehem First Baptist Church pastor Jody Hice takes issue with the IRS saying he cannot endorse a candi
date from the pulpit. Hice recently endorsed John McCain saying it was not so much his endorsement rather a
‘Biblical’ one. Photo by Chris Bridges
By Kristi Reed
astor Jody Hice of
Bethlehem First
Baptist Church is
attempting to do something
most people try to avoid - get
the attention of the Internal
Revenue Service.
Hice is one of 33 pastors
nationwide who participat
ed in last month's “Pulpit
Freedom Sunday,” an orga
nized effort to fight what Hice
and others view as the gov
ernment's infringement on
pastors' rights to free speech.
A 1954 act, known as the
Johnson Amendment, prohib
its churches from endorsing
political candidates. Failure to
comply can mean the loss of a
church’s tax-exempt status.
Hice said the amendment
was created after Lyndon
Johnson was accused of being
soft on communism by sev
eral religious organizations
during a senate race. When
Johnson got to Washington,
he had the amendment added
to the IRS regulations, Hice
explained.
“It was unconstitutional
then and it’s unconstitutional
now,” Hice said.
To protest the amendment,
Hice recently delivered a ser
mon in which he endorsed
presidential candidate John
McCain.
Hice is quick to point out
that he made the endorse
ment, not the church.
“Then again, it wasn’t really
so much my endorsement as it
was a Biblical endorsement,”
he said.
After comparing the candi
dates' positions on two major
moral issues - the sanctity
of life and the definition of
marriage - Hice determined
that McCain’s platform more
closely matched the teachings
of the Bible.
“Based upon what the can
didates themselves say on
those issues and what the
Bible says on those issues, I
made an endorsement based
on the one whose positions
were more closely aligned to
the scripture,” he said.
Hice felt it was important
to present the Biblical teach
ings on the moral issues to his
congregation and said the ser
mon was not centered around
endorsing one candidate over
the other.
“The whole issue comes
down to the right of pastors to
speak Biblical truth from the
pulpit without fear of punish
ment,” he said.
According to Hice, the IRS
has created a climate of threat
and intimidation intended to
limit what pastors can and
cannot say.
“It’s a First Amendment
issue,” he said. “We have a
climate where the government
is literally hijacking the pul
pits of America and dictating
what can and cannot be said.”
Hice said he is not trying to
turn the church into a political
action committee and is not
raising money for any candi
date or party.
“We're just simply address
ing moral issues that the can
didates themselves are talk
ing about - addressing those
issues from a Biblical per
spective, connecting the dots
and drawing conclusions,” he
said.
HICE VS.
THE IRS
While Hice feels it is his
right to address the moral
issues surrounding political
campaigns, the IRS may dis
agree.
“The IRS regulations are
muddy and vague, so some
time you don’t know if you
are really crossing the line or
not,” he said.
Religious organizations are
the only tax-exempt organiza
tions that have speech restric
tions, according to Hice.
“There are a number of
tax-exempt organizations out
there that have no restric
tions whatsoever,” he said.
“You have labor unions, busi
ness associations, chambers
of commerce even political
action committees and they
can endorse candidates and
address issues that are impor
tant to them. But when it
comes to religious organiza
tions, the government says
you cannot address these
issues or we’ll take away your
tax exemption.”
For that reason, Hice argues
that the tax code itself is dis
criminatory and questions why
religious organizations alone
are discriminated against and
forced to waive their First
Amendment rights.
Though Hice could have
talked about morality and the
candidates without calling
attention to himself and his
church, he felt it was impor
tant to bring the issue to the
attention of the public and
the IRS.
Hice has even mailed the
IRS a copy of the sermon
in which he endorses John
McCain.
Hice asked the IRS to
review the sermon and
informed the agency that he
did not believe he had done
anything unconstitutional or
broken any type of law.
So far, Hice has not received
a response.
“I'm not trying to hide,”
he said. “The purpose is
that hopefully the IRS will
change their unconstitutional
stance which is forcing pas
tors to surrender their First
Amendment right.”
Hice said if his actions
result in a court battle, then
he will do what he can to
overturn what he sees as an
unjust regulation on his right
to free speech.
“We have the right to chal
lenge that and have it reviewed
and considered. The pastors
are not the ones breaking the
constitution. It’s the IRS,” he
said.
Hice does not believe
churches and pastors should
have to surrender their rights
to free speech in exchange for
tax-exempt status.
MORE THAN
THE CHURCH
The members of the
Bethlehem First Baptist
Church are supportive of
Hice's efforts, but the issue
concerns more than just his
congregation, Hice explained.
“It’s important for all
Americans to be able to exer
cise their free speech rights,”
he said. “The people are very
much aware that we are los
ing our rights little by little all
over the country and it's time
for someone to stand up and
say this is not right,” he said.
While the right to free
speech is central to Hice's
battle, he feels he also has a
moral obligation to take on
the IRS.
“Our constitution protects
all of us. We have been told
that we cannot address moral
issues if, in any way, it con
nects to political candidates,”
he said. “The fact is that
morality frequently connects
itself to politics. They’re the
ones making legislation. That
is a responsibility I have as a
pastor. I have a responsibility
to guide our congregation and
address moral issues.”
Furthermore, Hice said, the
country calls upon its citizens
to be involved in the political
process.
“Our government does
not work without involve
ment from citizens and yet a
huge portion of our citizenry,
and the church as a whole,
is being told they cannot be
involved. It's un-American
and it’s unconstitutional,” he
said.
For that reason, Hice
intends to continue his free
speech fight until the issue is
favorably resolved.
“It's just a matter of right
is right and wrong is wrong,”
he said.
“It's surprising to me that
so many people who are advo
cates for the separation of
church and state have no prob
lem with the government cen
soring what can be said from
the pulpit,” he added. “That's
really what this come down
to. It’s wrong. Government
ought not to be dictating what
can be said particularly when
it is a Biblical message com
ing from the pulpit.”
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