The other story about Obama and the United Church of Christ
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- April
- 1
The United Church of Christ has set up a blog about Trinity UCC, Barack Obama’s church and the source of so much news in recent weeks. (ADD: It’s been pointed out to me that the UCC may not have set up the blog. But they’ve clearly endorsed it, putting it on their homepage.)
A very interesting UCC/Obama story that has not gotten much attention, though, is this: The Internal Revenue Service is investigating whether a speech that Obama gave last June at the United Church of Christ’s national gathering in Hartford was too political for a tax-exempt organization.
Obama is a UCC member and his address was presented as that of a UCC member at a denominational gathering. He also happens to be a politician. Obama spoke about the role of faith in public life.
Religious groups are allowed to invite political figures to address them—but they cannot endorse such figures. Was Obama’s appearance an inherent endorsement? Or merely a speech by a member (he was invited before he began running for president)? Or both?
The IRS letter says: “Our concerns are based on articles posted on several websites including the church’s which state that United States Presidential Candidate Senator Barack Obama addressed nearly 10,000 church members gathered at the United Church of Christ’s biennial General Synod at the Hartford Civic Center on June 23, 2007. In addition, 40 Obama volunteers staffed campaign tables outside the center to promote his campaign.”
The letter goes on to say that all churches “are prohibited from participating in, or intervening in (including the publication or distribution of statements), any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office.”
The UCC says the investigation is “disturbing.”
This entry was posted
on Tuesday, April 1st, 2008 at 9:55 am by Gary Stern.
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The world of religion, we don't have to tell you, is vast. The purpose of this blog is for Stern to note, flag and comment on some of the more interesting religious developments on the scene – weighty and quirky, somber and laughable, far away and just down the road. He won't interpret Scripture, take sides in conflicts or judge anyone. But he will take advantage of the journalist's license to observe.
I went to the blog you referenced. It was not clear to me whether this blog was set up and run by an individual member of Trinity UCC, or Trinity UCC (the church), or the UCC (the denomination). You assert that the blog was set up by the UCC. Why do you assert that?
The actual complaint filed with the IRS is located at http://www.ucctruths.com/irs.pdf – this will give you specific context to the complaint and investigation.