I recently moved to Knoxville, Tennessee, a hotbed of radical right-wing and racist politics. It was a revelation to watch local "religious" television programming on Sunday morning. I am shocked at what passes these days as religious teaching. The Bush Administration tried to remove the tax-exempt status from main line churches where one sermon against his wars were heard. There are now national "religious" organizations, ministries and churches, that produce the most partisan, untrue and vile political attacks on the Obama Administration in the name of religious instruction. These charlatans should not be silenced. They should pay taxes however.
I am focused this morning on one national "ministry" that is one of the worst offenders. They broadcast nationally and may be seen in your local TV market on Sunday morning. This organization is Coral Ridge Ministries (www.crm.tv) based in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida and founded by the ultra right-wing reactionary Dr. D. James Kennedy. These folks, if they are the righteous citizens they claim to be, need to start paying their taxes.
I am not going to go on at length listing the wing nut activities of this organization. Suffice it to say they are "Christianists" as defined by Andrew Sullivan ("The fusion of religion and politics and the use of Biblical authority to strip other people of civil rights...") and they are activists in that they actively support anti-gay groups and causes, they actively support "tea-party" groups and activities, they actively support anti-abortion groups and causes and they actively attack the Obama Administration, especially the Obama nominations, in the most vile and scurrilous manner. I simply refer you to the website above and the title of their current "give-away" (for a small donation) entitled Radical Rulers, an anti-Obama polemic thinly disguised as a religious tract. Try to watch some of their broadcasts and see if you agree with me that these charlatans should pay their taxes. If so, make your voices heard to the FCC, IRS and your local television stations, especially during licensing periods.
I am a religious person and have no problem with the tax-exempt status of churches, even those with whom I disagree. Coral Ridge is an exception only because of their political activism and dishonest posing as a church to give a false theological authority to their extreme political goals. All political organizations must pay their taxes on funds raised to support political causes and properties used for political campaigns. Dr. D. James Kennedy and Coral Ridge Ministries should not be exempt.