State GOP Office Asks Churches for Membership Lists -- Again

Are North Carolina churches being "pushed around" by the Republican Party?

WASHINGTON -- The Interfaith Alliance is outraged the North Carolina state Republican Party office is asking religious leaders for their church directories. The request was sent by e-mail Thurs., Feb. 16; by Friday, several area pastors had already said they wouldn't divulge their lists, citing inappropriate entanglement of partisan politics and religion.

In response to this alarming news, the Rev. Welton Gaddy, president of The Interfaith Alliance and Pastor for Preaching and Worship at Northminster (Baptist) Church in Monroe, La., released the following statement:

As the pastor of a local congregation, if I found out that my church membership directory was shared with a campaign or political party, I would begin immediate legal action against the campaign or political party. It's a serious mistake to consider worshipers in religious institutions as just another bloc of voters like farmers, labor unions, and corporate executives.

Collecting church directories intrudes on the integrity of houses of worship and compromises them by classifying them as political organizing tools. I am fearful that initiatives like this by any of the political parties will lure religious organizations and religious leaders into a dangerous, unconstitutional territory. Even worse, proponents of such list-gathering are leading religious leaders into the temptation of forfeiting the prophetic voice of religion.

Furthermore, the national GOP says the collection of church directories is for voter registration efforts. No one bought that defense during the 2004 elections and we won't buy it in 2006 either. The role of religion and values in the 2004 election was that of a political strategy employed to achieve a political goal ­ winning an election ­ which there is no reason to believe that has not changed."

*****************************************************

The Interfaith Alliance (TIA) is a nonpartisan, grassroots organization dedicated to promoting the positive and healing role of religion in the life of the nation and challenging those who manipulate religion to promote a narrow, divisive agenda. With more than 150,000 members drawn from more than 75 faith traditions and 75 local activist groups throughout America, TIA promotes compassion, civility and mutual respect for human dignity in our increasingly diverse society.