Americans United for the Separation of Church and State filed formal complaints with the IRS on Monday targeting six churches that violated an IRS stipulating that churches which take advantage of the IRS' tax breaks need to refrain from partisan politics or else pay their share of taxes.
Pastor Jody Hice of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Bethlehem, Ga., said that McCain "holds more to a biblical world view" on issues of abortion and homosexuality and urged her congregation to vote for McCain and not Sen. Barack Obama.
Pastor Gus Booth of Warroad Community Church in Warroad, Minn., told his congregation, "We need to vote for the most righteous of candidates. And it doesn't take a brain surgeon to figure that out. The most righteous is John McCain." He said that homosexuality is immoral and Obama's refusal to denounce homosexuality and abortion is "evil, wicked and immoral. Obama condones what the Bible condemns," he said.
Booth was a delegate to the Republican National Convention (RNC) and had previously endorsed McCain from the pulpit.
Pastor Paul Blair of Fairview Baptist Church in Edmond, Okla., said from the pulpit, "As a Christian and as an American citizen, I will be voting for John McCain."
Pastor Luke Emrich of New Life Church in West Bend, Wis., referenced abortion and said to his church, "I'm telling you straight up I would choose life. I would cast a vote for John McCain and Sarah Palin." On Obama he said, "If a candidate supports something that is evil and wicked from a biblical perspective, then I have the right to call out the wickedness, and I have the right to say this is what this person stands for - this is wrong."
The Rev. Wiley Drake of First Southern Baptist Church, Buena Park, Calif., came out strongly against Obama and said, "I am angry because the government and the IRS and some Christians have taken away the rights of pastors. I have a right to endorse anybody I doggone well please. And if they don't like that, too bad... According to my Bible and in my opinion, there is no way in the world a Christian can vote for Barack Hussein Obama. Mr. Obama is not standing up for anything that is tradition in America."
He then endorsed Alan Keyes of the American Independent Party. "I'm here to tell you that I personally endorse Alan Keyes as our next president of the United States," said Drake. "There's no way a Christian can vote for Barack Obama. You could vote for John McCain. I want you to vote your conscience. Let the Bible act as your guide."
One pastor missed his flight and couldn't participate, although it's likely that Bishop Robert Smith Sr. of Word of Outreach Center in Little Rock, Ark., would have endorsed McCain. He was a delegate to the Republican National Convention.
The Rev. Francis Pultro of Calvary Chapel, Philadelphia, Pa., told his congregation, "As Christians, it's clear we should vote for John McCain. He is the only candidate I believe a Christian can vote for."
The Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, said that pastors who violated the law should be ashamed.
"These pastors flagrantly violated the law and now must deal with the consequences," said Lynn. "This is one of the most appalling Religious Right gambits I've ever seen. Church leaders are supposed to tend to Americans' spiritual needs, not behave like partisan political hacks. I urge the IRS to act swiftly in these cases."
He continued, "A pastor who knowingly violates federal tax law is setting a poor example for his or her congregation. Every pastor who took part in this stunt ought to be ashamed."
