Religious Right Group Falsely Accuses Americans United of Scaring Pastors

[cbayer]

Last edited Wed Sep 26, 2012, 12:02 PM - Edit history (1)

Title changed for accuracy

http://www.opposingviews.com/i/religion/christianity/information-not-intimidation-religious-right-group-falsely-accuses-au-trying



Submitted by AUSCS on Sep 25, 2012

The Alliance Defending Freedom is a dishonest organization playing fast and loose with the tax exemptions of churches in order to gain power and control elections.

It seems that one person’s information is another person’s intimidation.

Several weeks ago, Americans United sent 60,000 letters to houses of worship nationwide urging them not to endorse political candidates this election season. We didn’t do that because we were bored – we did it because we’ve seen an uptick in Religious Right efforts to enlist churches into partisan politics.

Federal tax law bars campaign intervention by houses of worship and other nonprofits that claim exemption under Section 501(c)(3) of the tax code. We want to make sure that everyone knows the law and rejects the Religious Right’s misguided appeals. Americans United sees absolutely nothing sinister about asking Americans to play by the rules.

more at link

[longship]

1. Americans United is NOT an atheist group.

The executive director of AU, Rev. Barry Lynn, is a United Church of Christ minister. Many supporters of AU are religious. The separation of church and state is not an atheist issue.

I despise this kind of distorted reportage.

[cbayer]

3. You are absolutely correct. I think they made an editorial error in the headline and

have edited it for accuracy.

[longship]

5. Headline writers are often not the article writer.

I see this often. The headline takes some weird spin unrelated to the message of the article. This was a good example.

Thanks for correcting it. Too bad you can't correct original article. (Didn't click through.)

[pinto]

7. Yeah. One of my pet peeves.

Sometimes just seems due to sloppy work, sometimes seems blatantly intentional.

[dmallind]

2. If AU can scare pastors away from electioneering, more power to them. Atheists however cannot

We've tried. As in most cases, with no more import than a buzzing flea to a warthog.

[cbayer]

4. I think this is a good example of believers and non-believers working together

to achieve a shared goal.

This whole issue seems to be really heating up this season.

[dmallind]

6. I think AU manages that because of its very narrow remit

I (sincerely) appreciate the efforts of the believers in AU, which we must remember began as a Protestant and in some ways contra-Catholic group (as in they stood against Catholic attempts at entanglement rather than being anti-Catholic by intent - though they were certainly accused of the latter for a long time, and probably still are today in some quarters). Their fight is worthwhile and important to nonbelievers, obviously. It's just incomplete. Nonbelievers are often, and rightly, more worried about religious influence than about specific religious entanglement, while obviously opposing both. The unavoidable parting of the ways with even the AU-supporting believer comes when the former is in question.

[cbayer]

8. I was not aware of the historical perspective on this organization and appreciate the

information.

I am not sure why there would be a parting of the ways when it comes to concerns about religious influence. From looking at their site and their successes, it seems like this is clearly on their agenda.