I fear the rise of dark money filtering through churches, “tithes” in exchange for endorsements, more visiting politicians “preaching,” and spiritual abuse in the form of “this candidate is God’s will.” Nothing good here, just more partisan rhetoric that will divide.
This piece hits home for me. From personal experience, I’ve seen how clergy endorsements can increase division. Church should be a place where all are welcome to learn and grow in faith. But when a priest or pastor endorses a candidate, it risks alienating those who vote differently or inviting judgment from fellow parishioners.
During COVID, some priests in my area refused to wear masks or enforce masking. It became a political statement and made me feel like they weren’t living out Jesus’ mission of caring for others. To this day, I feel unwelcome in my church.
Jessica, I had to leave the Catholic Church because Kansas City- St. Joe Diocese Bishop Johnson sent a letter full of lies about an amendment overturning our state abortion ban to parishioners.
This is exactly what I am afraid of. I feel comforted when I go to church, and I truly love the feeling of community I get from the church my family attends. I would really rather not know the political affiliation of those who attend my church--I can pretty much guess that because it's a Catholic church, my political beliefs are in the minority. If the priest or anyone else gets up and starts endorsing candidates, that's going to be the end for me.
As someone who has been in full time ministry most of my adult life, I feel like this will do more harm than good, and cause even more division. Churches already lean toward being homogeneous, and this will only enforce that tendency.
We have fallen so far in the 6 months this administration has been in charge. We warned everyone what would happen, it was clearly written out, but voters chose to believe a man who has lied and cheated his ENTIRE life, over a woman of color. I refuse to give up the fight, but it’s become obvious that little will be left of the government that works for all its citizens like the founding fathers intended. It’s hard not to be eaten up by the anger I have towards the trump voters and the pathetic voters who said I don’t like trump but I can’t vote for her so I just won’t vote. It’s a sad statement about the citizens of our country when they elect someone who already had 4 of the worst years in history, of being president. We are living in the era of you get what you voted for. Mixing religion and politics is a horrible idea and we will suffer in untold ways because of it. It goes against the very essence of our country and the principles it’s supposed to uphold.
I don’t think that the MAGA didn’t believe Project 2025 would happen…I think they wanted it! I know people who didn’t see any harm in the goals of it. Liar or not, many also truly believed he was the better candidate, and they voted without evil intent. It is sad to hear some saying “oh that isn’t what I thought he meant”. SMH
Overwhelming evangelical support for Trump is what pushed me to leave the church. Blatant sermons in his favor may have the opposite effect Trump intends.
Right? That’s also what I am thinking. I cannot see someone who was undecided attending a church like the ones that make endorsements and then be convinced to support MAGA now that church leaders can explicitly say names during a sermon. What will actually change because of this is the perception of them being welcoming to all. People who wanted to ignore the politics now will be turned off and turned away.
When I’m president pushing through my Project 2029 agenda, I’ll be restoring the IRS to staffing levels never seen before, specifically to enforce the Johnson Amendment and revoke tax exempt status for every church that’s been endorsing candidates. We’re demanding back taxes for all those years they didn’t pay while breaking the rules, because my platform equates paying your fair share with being a patriot.
And because meanwhile, today in this awful timeline, we are throwing people in prison for immigration violations when many of those immigrants are actually paying into our tax system and showing up to court dates, while churches claim they’re being “silenced” for wanting special tax treatment. Who’s really dodging their responsibilities? Megachurches who collect luxury cars and who dodge taxes while cheerleading this corrupt administration deserve prison time way more than people who are actually contributing to our communities and following legal processes.
You aren’t “silenced” if you want to pay taxes like everyone else! Political action committees pay taxes, advocacy organizations pay taxes. If churches want to be in the endorsement business, they can join that club and fund our schools and roads like the rest of us. The choice has always been theirs.
I can also see this backfiring in terms of public opinion of churches in general. They might find themselves wishing they’d stuck to the old arrangement.
PS I’m joking: no way I would ever wanna run for office, especially not in this political environment. 😌
The problem with sane, intelligent, decent people not wanting to run for office is that it creates exactly this kind of political environment. Of course, it doesn't help that those people can't AFFORD to run for office if they want to get past the level of local school board. We're here because the people who DON'T want to be in office have gotten their wish.
Right! I wish the incentives were better, attracting people who step up for the right reasons. But especially in my case, where my mind goes blank and I have something close to a heart attack anytime I'm asked to verbally speak in public, it's probably not the right fit for me. Unless... do you think people could warm up to electing a digital avatar for office? I think I might excel under those circumstances.
It's like the current administration is doing everything, and I mean everything, to destroy the decency of America. I'm less and less convinced that a course correction won't require violence.
This worries me so much. With the “family discussion” argument, is it possible that money donated to candidates or parties could be argued to be “speech” like it was for corporations? I know you said churches acting like PACs would change their categorization, but I can’t help but have a nagging feeling that there are groups prepared to argue otherwise.
This seems like one of those moves that one side is thinking will only apply how they want it, like when people were advocating for book bans on all books they considered to contain explicit or violent material… and ended up with banned bibles. Are Evangelicals considering that the Church of Satan can now endorse a candidate? Are conservative Christian churches considering that progress Christian churches can now endorse candidates… and they might advocate for different people?
This blurring of the thin line between church and state seems to continue to weaken, and suffice it to say, I have some concerns.
You know what I do not want to hear about in church? American politics. You know what Jesus definitely never, ever spoke about? American politics. Church is the one hour a week I can be sure to step away from the political hellscape this country has become.
If they're going down this road, they'd best remember what Sharon says: what one side can do, so can the other side. There are plenty of progressive pastors in this country.
Now even our churches will be separated by political sides. I see nothing goid coming from this. 😢
This is creating a state approved church. It is still more of this agenda- to isolate, control, oppress and shut down democracy. This community has taught me that there have been other times in our history when groups have been targeted and oppressed. They made it thru. My prayers are that this is a short time in history and America will win in the end.
This may very well be the demise for many small, rural churches that struggle to maintain or build membership. Not only will many leave their current house-of-worship, they will be reluctant to join another church due to the perception that all churches will demonstrate overwhelming political bias.
I think what the Christian Nationalists fail to recognize is that there are many more "church-goers" who prefer their pastors to be apolitical (at least on Sunday morning) than they realize.
So many pastors have resisted being co-opted by MAGA by not endorsing a candidate. Now, I’m concerned that the pressure to choose a political side will be enormous and lead to fallout. I also fear the US could become even more like 1930s Germany a church divided by whether they support the dear leader or not and backlash against those who don’t (eg Bonhoeffer).
I fear the rise of dark money filtering through churches, “tithes” in exchange for endorsements, more visiting politicians “preaching,” and spiritual abuse in the form of “this candidate is God’s will.” Nothing good here, just more partisan rhetoric that will divide.
This piece hits home for me. From personal experience, I’ve seen how clergy endorsements can increase division. Church should be a place where all are welcome to learn and grow in faith. But when a priest or pastor endorses a candidate, it risks alienating those who vote differently or inviting judgment from fellow parishioners.
During COVID, some priests in my area refused to wear masks or enforce masking. It became a political statement and made me feel like they weren’t living out Jesus’ mission of caring for others. To this day, I feel unwelcome in my church.
Jessica, I had to leave the Catholic Church because Kansas City- St. Joe Diocese Bishop Johnson sent a letter full of lies about an amendment overturning our state abortion ban to parishioners.
And they wonder why they can’t fill the pews!??
This is exactly what I am afraid of. I feel comforted when I go to church, and I truly love the feeling of community I get from the church my family attends. I would really rather not know the political affiliation of those who attend my church--I can pretty much guess that because it's a Catholic church, my political beliefs are in the minority. If the priest or anyone else gets up and starts endorsing candidates, that's going to be the end for me.
Allison, I hope you get to keep attending, and share community. Celebrate and build on the good. You are a light for others.
This equates to “How to build a Christian State” = Christian Nationalism = Project 2025
As someone who has been in full time ministry most of my adult life, I feel like this will do more harm than good, and cause even more division. Churches already lean toward being homogeneous, and this will only enforce that tendency.
We have fallen so far in the 6 months this administration has been in charge. We warned everyone what would happen, it was clearly written out, but voters chose to believe a man who has lied and cheated his ENTIRE life, over a woman of color. I refuse to give up the fight, but it’s become obvious that little will be left of the government that works for all its citizens like the founding fathers intended. It’s hard not to be eaten up by the anger I have towards the trump voters and the pathetic voters who said I don’t like trump but I can’t vote for her so I just won’t vote. It’s a sad statement about the citizens of our country when they elect someone who already had 4 of the worst years in history, of being president. We are living in the era of you get what you voted for. Mixing religion and politics is a horrible idea and we will suffer in untold ways because of it. It goes against the very essence of our country and the principles it’s supposed to uphold.
I don’t think that the MAGA didn’t believe Project 2025 would happen…I think they wanted it! I know people who didn’t see any harm in the goals of it. Liar or not, many also truly believed he was the better candidate, and they voted without evil intent. It is sad to hear some saying “oh that isn’t what I thought he meant”. SMH
Overwhelming evangelical support for Trump is what pushed me to leave the church. Blatant sermons in his favor may have the opposite effect Trump intends.
Right? That’s also what I am thinking. I cannot see someone who was undecided attending a church like the ones that make endorsements and then be convinced to support MAGA now that church leaders can explicitly say names during a sermon. What will actually change because of this is the perception of them being welcoming to all. People who wanted to ignore the politics now will be turned off and turned away.
When I’m president pushing through my Project 2029 agenda, I’ll be restoring the IRS to staffing levels never seen before, specifically to enforce the Johnson Amendment and revoke tax exempt status for every church that’s been endorsing candidates. We’re demanding back taxes for all those years they didn’t pay while breaking the rules, because my platform equates paying your fair share with being a patriot.
And because meanwhile, today in this awful timeline, we are throwing people in prison for immigration violations when many of those immigrants are actually paying into our tax system and showing up to court dates, while churches claim they’re being “silenced” for wanting special tax treatment. Who’s really dodging their responsibilities? Megachurches who collect luxury cars and who dodge taxes while cheerleading this corrupt administration deserve prison time way more than people who are actually contributing to our communities and following legal processes.
You aren’t “silenced” if you want to pay taxes like everyone else! Political action committees pay taxes, advocacy organizations pay taxes. If churches want to be in the endorsement business, they can join that club and fund our schools and roads like the rest of us. The choice has always been theirs.
I can also see this backfiring in terms of public opinion of churches in general. They might find themselves wishing they’d stuck to the old arrangement.
PS I’m joking: no way I would ever wanna run for office, especially not in this political environment. 😌
The problem with sane, intelligent, decent people not wanting to run for office is that it creates exactly this kind of political environment. Of course, it doesn't help that those people can't AFFORD to run for office if they want to get past the level of local school board. We're here because the people who DON'T want to be in office have gotten their wish.
Right! I wish the incentives were better, attracting people who step up for the right reasons. But especially in my case, where my mind goes blank and I have something close to a heart attack anytime I'm asked to verbally speak in public, it's probably not the right fit for me. Unless... do you think people could warm up to electing a digital avatar for office? I think I might excel under those circumstances.
It's like the current administration is doing everything, and I mean everything, to destroy the decency of America. I'm less and less convinced that a course correction won't require violence.
This worries me so much. With the “family discussion” argument, is it possible that money donated to candidates or parties could be argued to be “speech” like it was for corporations? I know you said churches acting like PACs would change their categorization, but I can’t help but have a nagging feeling that there are groups prepared to argue otherwise.
This seems like one of those moves that one side is thinking will only apply how they want it, like when people were advocating for book bans on all books they considered to contain explicit or violent material… and ended up with banned bibles. Are Evangelicals considering that the Church of Satan can now endorse a candidate? Are conservative Christian churches considering that progress Christian churches can now endorse candidates… and they might advocate for different people?
This blurring of the thin line between church and state seems to continue to weaken, and suffice it to say, I have some concerns.
You know what I do not want to hear about in church? American politics. You know what Jesus definitely never, ever spoke about? American politics. Church is the one hour a week I can be sure to step away from the political hellscape this country has become.
If they're going down this road, they'd best remember what Sharon says: what one side can do, so can the other side. There are plenty of progressive pastors in this country.
Now even our churches will be separated by political sides. I see nothing goid coming from this. 😢
This is creating a state approved church. It is still more of this agenda- to isolate, control, oppress and shut down democracy. This community has taught me that there have been other times in our history when groups have been targeted and oppressed. They made it thru. My prayers are that this is a short time in history and America will win in the end.
So much for taking money out of elections.
In 50 years, history will not look kindly at the American church's embrace of this.
So now will we see Democratic and Republican houses of worship? This is just a dumb idea…not surprising.
This may very well be the demise for many small, rural churches that struggle to maintain or build membership. Not only will many leave their current house-of-worship, they will be reluctant to join another church due to the perception that all churches will demonstrate overwhelming political bias.
I think what the Christian Nationalists fail to recognize is that there are many more "church-goers" who prefer their pastors to be apolitical (at least on Sunday morning) than they realize.
So many pastors have resisted being co-opted by MAGA by not endorsing a candidate. Now, I’m concerned that the pressure to choose a political side will be enormous and lead to fallout. I also fear the US could become even more like 1930s Germany a church divided by whether they support the dear leader or not and backlash against those who don’t (eg Bonhoeffer).