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October 25, 2012

The intersection of Church and State
The intersection of Church and State

Group Asks IRS to Investigate an Anti-Obama Church

Americans United for Separation of Church and State on Tuesday asked the Internal Revenue Service to investigate a Texas church for intervening in the presidential election.

Church in the Valley, which is based in Leaky, posted on its marquee: “Vote for the Mormon, not the Muslim! The capitalist, not the communist!”

“This is a blatant attempt to intervene in a political campaign,” said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United, which is based in Washington, D.C. “I urge the IRS to crack down on this over-the-top law-breaking.”

The sign is a reference to President Barack Obama, who is a Christian, but who some conservatives claim is secretly a Muslim, Lynn wrote in a two-page letter to the IRS. The Mormon reference is to former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who is a member of the Church of the Latter-day Saints.

Ray Miller, the church’s pastor, told a Texas television station that he displayed the sign because he feels strongly about the election. Photographs of the sign have appeared on several news websites.

“Miller may indeed have strong feelings about the election, but that does not give him the right to use his tax-exempt church to endorse a candidate. In fact, Miller’s actions are, I believe, a clear and flagrant violation of the law,” Lynn said.

Federal law prohibits 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organizations, which includes houses of worship, from intervening in elections.

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