THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, August 2, 1996 TAG: 9608020452
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TONY WHARTON, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 92 lines
South Hampton Roads ministers who have allowed Christian Coalition voter guides in their churches are watching a federal lawsuit against the coalition, and are not ready to decide whether they'll continue using the guides.
``We don't want to do anything that's illegal,'' said Kelly Burris, pastor at Kempsville Baptist Church in Virginia Beach. ``We've had the understanding that it was legal.''
Burris said the guides have been distributed to his 650-member congregation ``probably ever since they started using them.''
He wasn't alarmed by the federal lawsuit, but he said the church probably will check with its lawyer before accepting the guides in November.
Jim Strong, administrator of Kempsville Presbyterian Church, said they would take a similar tack.
``We don't know what to do yet,'' he said. ``We haven't seen what's going to happen with this, so maybe it's premature. We would use them in the future unless something turns up to jeopardize our tax-exempt status.''
This is a key question for the Christian Coalition, which owes a significant part of its political clout to the guides widely distributed in churches.
No church wants to risk its tax-exempt status. While the Federal Election Commission's lawsuit does not specifically address that status, it accuses the coalition of partisan political activity - the kind of activity that could affect tax status.
The FEC's suit charged that the nonprofit coalition aided Republicans by distributing millions of voter guides, holding conferences and using direct mail and telemarketing.
The Christian Coalition maintains that its voter guides and other activities are within its rights and violate no laws.
Since the coalition was formed in 1989, the Internal Revenue Service has never ruled on the group's tax-exempt status, but it has provisionally operated under that designation.
The IRS can get serious about churches engaging in politics. Last year, the IRS warned the Rev. Raymond Dean of Mount Gilead Baptist Church in Norfolk that his explicit endorsement of candidates from the pulpit was threatening his tax exemption.
``I promised not to ever do that again,'' Dean said. ``I've had candidates come to my church since then, but I've informed them in no uncertain terms they may come to worship but that's all.''
Dean said he agrees with the FEC's suit against the Christian Coalition because he thinks the group also steps over the line into partisan politics.
Other ministers said the coalition's guides had made them nervous.
Bill Austin, pastor at Virginia Beach Christian Church, said he allowed the guides into his church shortly after the coalition first began distributing them. But when a member of the congregation complained, Austin took a closer look.
``I looked at it and I felt like it was slanted,'' he said. ``It does seem like they do have their slate of candidates. I get nervous about Christianity getting too far into politics.''
While he dropped the guides mainly for ethical reasons, Austin said, the church's tax-exempt status is important, too.
``Any time people do that it makes me concerned,'' he said. ``We try to be very cautious about what we do so we don't threaten the purpose of that law.''
Walter F. Sullivan, bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Richmond, asked pastoral leaders in his diocese last fall not to allow the coalition's guides in their churches.
Steve Colecchi, special assistant to the bishop, said Sullivan believes in churches being involved in moral issues with political implications, but not in a partisan way.
``Our Catholic churches are asked not to use materials prepared by outside groups, including the Christian Coalition,'' Colecchi said. ``The bishop particularly has concerns about voter guides, which tend to present the information in such a way as to favor one candidate.''
Burris said he doesn't feel the coalition's guides do that.
``I think the guide certainly gives information that we haven't had in the past on both parties,'' he said. ``By that, people are more qualified to make the right kind of decision. I don't see that it has been prejudiced or setting up any particular candidate.''
No court date has been set for the FEC's lawsuit, but it appears unlikely it would be resolved before Election Day, the next time the coalition would distribute voter guides. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
[Christian Coalition Family Values Voter Guide '92]
Graphic
VOTER GUIDES
The Christian Coalition voter guides are 8-by-5-inch handbills
that display opposing candidates' views on issues the coalition
considers to be important to Christian voters, such as abortion, a
balanced budget and minimum prison terms for certain offenses. They
are typically distributed at churches just before an election.
KEYWORDS: CHRISTIAN COALITION FEC LAWSUIT by CNB