Church Corporations

I find it amusing and confusing how folk view to government. Some seem to see it as the devil incarnate out to make lives of citizens miserable. Some see it as the tool that has been taken over by corporate interests to do their bidding. Some see the government as representative democracy (not a pure democracy), we get what we elect; with a variation the public is manipulated by wealth and power special interests.

And now we have the discussion as to whether corporations are people and thus entitled to freedom of speech rights.

I have lived my professional life in an institution called the church and each church is a corporation (a great many churches may not have up to date files of incorporation and are in violation of the law, but it is required.). In a previous article I stated I felt it was my obligation as a pastor to encourage people to vote their convictions, and I hoped that their convictions reflected the religious beliefs, but that I had no right to interpret or tell them specifically how or whom to vote for. I also believe that is true for the church corporations as well. And those who do take that stance have often found themselves in trouble with the government and for good reason.

The point is that churches as corporations cannot speak with a single voice. For example the Roman Catholic Church has a pope which may claim to speak for the church but he doesn’t; for example 98% of American Roman Catholics are for using birth control which the Pope is against (and immoral position in my opinion on the pope’s part.) The Roman Catholic Church like all other churches has as many opinions as they have members. It is representative of hierarchical churches. I’m a Presbyterian which is a representative democracy, the model the country was based upon. The national body of the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. may make statements of behalf of that body but they only speak for that body. The most powerful of the governing bodied of Presbyterians is a Presbytery (states rights; our bishop) but they also speak for themselves not for each Presbyterian. And then there are the congressional forms of government churches such as the UCC, Baptists, and Lutherans which the highest power is the local congregation. Even they do not speak with a single voice even though they may come to consensus of various topics.

These corporations never are capable of speaking with a single voice. Neither can business corporations. It is an absurd concept. Now management may find consensus and decide to spend money on particular candidates at this point without disclosure. But to say they speak for all members of the corporations is false. It is as false as unions working in some of those corporations may speak for all their members. Groups may encourage political views but they cannot speak with a single voice and that single voice does not exist.

The Tea Party certainly does not possess a united voice, or even the political parties.

Election laws should protect these individual voices and not allow them to be coerced by groups in those organizations to say otherwise.

While I don’t believe churches should take political stands for specific parties and politicians, they do have the right to speak to Christian principles as applied to government laws and practices. The same is true for other corporations. But disclosure of giving should be consistent and open.

Secret organizations as the Kock brothers attempted to be should be called to task and be open.

Right now it seems as though corporations what to have it both ways, corporate anonymity and forcing the members toward specific support.

Well, enough perhaps I’ve confused you as much as I have myself at this point.