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Protect America’s Churches!  8/26/2004 
Rep.Walter B. Jones |
Can you imagine sitting in church and your pastor preaches on the sanctity of life and the importance of maintaining marriage as one woman and one man and the following week your church is contacted by the IRS and told that it will lose its tax-exempt status and has to close its doors? Unfortunately, this is a possibility and without your help could become a reality for America’s churches.
H.R. 235 is legislation sponsored by Representative Walter Jones (R-North Carolina) to end this assault on religious freedom and free speech. His bill would restore free speech to America’s churches by clarifying an area of tax law that is currently used to bully churches into silence on political issues. Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code states that churches can not participate in political speech or else their tax-exempt status may be revoked. This law violates our Constitutional right to freedom of speech and freedom of worship. This law gives the IRS an easy lever with which to bully churches that try to put their faith into practice.
Martha Kleder spoke with Congressman Jones on the status of his bill. Click here to listen.
TAKE ACTION!
Contact your representative and urge him or her to cosponsor the Houses of Worship Free Speech Restoration Act (H.R. 235). Simply put your zip code in the box at right -- or go to http://congress.cwfa.org/cwfa/issues/alert/?alertid=6290586 -- for an email you can send to your own Representative.
Call House Majority Leader Tom Delay (202.225.4000) and Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert (202.225.0600) and urge them to add this bill to a piece of "must-pass" legislation.
Also, ask your pastor to write a letter to your Congressman on church letterhead supporting freedom of religion. For a sample letter-go to http://www.cwfa.org/articles/4430/CWA/freedom/index.htm. Hearing from local pastors and the congregations they represent will send a powerful message to Capitol Hill. (Please send a copy of your letter to Rep. Walter Jones, 422 Cannon House Office Building, Washington DC 20515).
Visit this link for talking points on H.R. 235.
You may also visit this informational website: www.hr235.org
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