Politics & Religion

My personal perspective on the intersection of Christian faith and politics is wrapped up in my understanding of citizenship. As I see it, we Christians are invited to live primarily as citizens of God's Kingdom while residing at postal addresses squarely in the kingdoms of this world. To get this across, I often talk about living as citizens of an Alternate Kingdom. This Alternate life does not mean that we need to be non-political. It says God expects us to work for the good of our neighbors and country to the extent that our understanding of Christian faith allows - all the while remembering that our primary citizenship is elsewhere. For more on this, check out Alternate Life.

In election seasons, churches often participate in one way or another in the election process. Some church participation jeopardizes the church's tax-exempt status. The IRS has a handy guide to help churches understand what they can, and cannot do, regarding political activities. It's the first two sections of Tax Guide for Churches and Religious Organizations (IRS publication 1828). As you might guess from the title, it is a large PDF (35 pages) mostly dealing with financial nuts and bolts. But the first two sections (just 7 pages) deal with the intersection of churches and political activity. Just thought you might like to have a look!

Blessings, Tim