I hear from people every week who think their tax problem is the end of the world. It usually isn't. I'm Darrin Mish. I've resolved over $100 million in tax debt for clients. Here's what you should know.<\/p>\n
The practice of separation of Church and State has been largely observed in the US for many years now. But in recent times, we have seen numerous occasions where the distinction has been somewhat blurred. Ministers have openly criticized or supported politicians or aspiring politicians running for elections, and the government taking some form of punitive action against any church seen as supporting or opposing candidates in public office. A recent survey was carried out to gather the views of pastors on this matter.<\/p>\n
According to the survey conducted by LifeWay Research in August, 79% of Protestant pastors \u2018strongly disagreed\u2019 while 7% \u2018somewhat disagreed\u2019 with the statement, \u201cThe government should regulate sermons by revoking a church\u2019s tax exemption if its pastor approves of or criticizes candidates based on the church\u2019s moral beliefs or theology.\u201d The survey was conducted among 1,000 Protestant pastors and sponsored by the Alliance Defense Fund.<\/p>\n
In 2010, LifeWay also conducted an earlier survey in which pastors were asked their views on using the pulpit to endorse a candidate for public office. The result was a majority of pastors disagreed with using the pulpit for such a purpose. 70% of pastors \u2018strongly disagreed\u2019 while another 14% \u2018somewhat disagreed\u2019 with the statement \u201cI believe pastors should endorse candidates for public office from the pulpit.\u201d<\/p>\n
But what does the American public think of this debatable subject? Should pastors and ministers use the pulpit as a platform to express their political opinions? In June 2008, a survey done by LifeWay Research found that 84% of adult Americans disagreed with the statement, \u201cI believe it is appropriate for pastors to publicly endorse candidates for public office during a church service.\u201d<\/p>\n
But the part of the problem is that most pastors do not see themselves as inclined to use the pulpit to endorse or oppose any person in public office. In October 2008, LifeWay found that less than 3% of pastors agree they have publicly endorsed any political candidate from the pulpit that year.<\/p>\n
Ed Stetzer, Vice President of research and ministry development at LifeWay Christian Resources said, \u201cPastors and church people have strong feelings when it comes to moral issues that some consider political, and historically churches have played a significant role in shaping political opinions. Pastors, however, clearly don\u2019t think the pulpit is the place for politics, nor do they think the church is the place for the IRS.\u201d The issue of religion has featured strongly in the 2012 Presidential elections. Many candidates have been asked about their religious faith and how it influences their stand on governance issues.<\/p>\n