For my first diary entry, let me tell you a little bit about myself.  I am a member of a United Church of Christ congregation in central Ohio whose pastor is one of the pastors described by Rod Parsley and others as the "Dirty 31"-- who signed a letter of complaint to the IRS questioning the activities of the political front groups that Parsley and Russell Johnson are using to engage in electioneering in Ohio.  I read the list of detailed complaints to the group assembled at our church on the night of January 15, many of whom were pastors who signed the complaint.  

I am one for whom religious freedom and personal freedom matter a great deal.  Like others who are members of Talk To Action, I am feel that both are under threat at the present time by a new McCarthyism whose central focus is shifting from anti-communism to homophobia and Islamophobia.  This new McCarthyism is attempting to employ churches as a political arm of the right wing.  We see it happening right here in Ohio, with the numerous appearances gubernatorial candidate Ken Blackwell has made with Johnson's Ohio Restoration Project and Parsley's Reformation Ohio groups.  It almost seems that Johnson and Parsley are spoiling for a fight with the IRS over the 501(c)(3) regulations that prohibit churches from electioneering.

What is also at stake is whether the IRS is going to be fair in enforcing the regulations in such cases.  It seems as if they have been more zealous in going after liberal churches such as All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena, California.  What apparently touched off the IRS' threat of revoking the church's tax-exempt status was a sermon, given by a retired rector the Sunday before the 2004 presidential election, which the IRS claimed was an endorsement of John Kerry from the pulpit.  If such an endorsement were given, it would be a violation of 501(c)(3), for the clergy of tax-exempt churches are not permitted to endorse candidates.  If one actually reads the text of this sermon (dated October 31, 2004, a PDF document), you will not find such an endorsement, only a discussion of issues. Rev. Regas does not say that Kerry is "the peacemaker" that people should vote for, nor does he endorse him in any other way.

Although there has been no explicit endorsement of Blackwell at any of the Ohio Restoration Project or Reformation Ohio events, the appearance of only one gubernatorial candidate at these events-- Blackwell-- and the praise that Parsley, Johnson, and other figures, both political and otherwise, have heaped on Blackwell at these gatherings, makes it appear to be an endorsement of Blackwell without saying as much.  Blackwell supports the agenda of the Christian Right, having spearheaded the passage of the "same-sex marriage ban" in Ohio in 2004.  He advocates a total ban on abortion, with no exceptions allowed to save the life of, or protect the health, of the mother.  He has been forced by Ohio Republicans to back off his campaign for "tax and expenditure limitation", which would essentially hog-tie state and local governments by restricting their ability to tax and spend public funds.

Until I came to this site through a referral by the Daily Kos, I didn't really have evidence that the religious right was actually spearheaded by the same radical-right figures that have gained so much influence in the political arena.  I always thought that Fundamentalism as a movement within the Christian Church arose quite apart from political movements, but I always felt that conservative Christians were attempting to legitimize their cultural beliefs by employing "clobber passages" from the Bible and a literalistic reading of the scriptures backed up by the hermetic seal of the "inerrant, infallible" doctrine.  It would not surprise me to find some of the usual suspects backing Parsley and Johnson, and in fact, it is a connection that is worth investigating.  In future diaries, I will provide more reports from the "front line" for religious and personal freedom in Ohio.