Scott Porter is correct as to the application of tax law. The contributions are from members, not from the church itself.

Those donations along with the dollar value of the substantial amount of man hours donated by Mormon Church members in CA and AZ, as well as the Utah phone banks that, until a few days ago, were calling across state lines to CA & AZ voters, certainly constitute far more than an “insubstantial part of its total activities during a particular year” for the Mormon Churches in CA and AZ in 2008.

I stand by my assertions.

See http://pewforum.org/docs/?DocID=281#q5 and following questions.

We will have a Democrat President with Democrat majorities in the Congress and Senate. And I’m not even a Democrat! But, that’s how the tide will roll in!

And same-gender marriage in three States: California, Massachusetts and Connecticut!

With California, Arizona and Florida voters defeating Prop. 8, Prop. 102 and Amendment 2, respectively.

California – Vote “NO” on Prop. 8!
Arizona – Vote “NO” on Prop. 102! AGAIN!
Florida – Vote “NO” on Amendment 2!

I also agree with Tavdy. That is one of the best ways to respond. I also believe that “Americans, like Europeans, have a deep-rooted distrust of religious organizations that try to impose their beliefs on others.” That’s why we must continue to use our blogs (and all other means) to help expose those who would use their church to dictate public policies.

CD is also right on the mark. I wrote several articles that zeroed in on the serious divisions that this tactic is already causing within the churches themselves.

When the LDS church sent out their infamous letter instructing that it be read from all of their California pulpits telling their followers to donate their money and time to defeat Prop 8, I wrote to my congressman to suggest an investigation of the tax exempt status of these institutions.

Happily, the need for this may have been preempted by the Sunday, Sept. 28th actions intentionally taken by 30 right wing clergy across the country. All of them preached politics from their pulpits in a challenge to the IRS policies prohibiting those kind of actions. They hope to see their case ultimately end up before the Supreme Court believing that this particular court would find in their favor. I think this is a critical misjudgment on their part and will, hopefully, cost them dearly. The article I wrote about their actions was on Sept. 30th and is in my archives.

With the Connecticut Supreme Court’s decision this morning legalizing gay marriage along with all the other simmering situations, this is going to be one hell of an election year!

Responsible authorities need to stop looking the other way as church leaders of whatever denomination break the law. Pull the LDS tax exempt status, and we can say good-bye to excessive meddling of religion in our system.

While that may be true, I suspect it is also true that Americans, like Europeans, have a deep-rooted distrust of religious organisations that try to impose their beliefs on others.

I think what Ben wrote is the best tack to be taken in this particular section of the debate:

” Many religious groups– Episcopalians, Reformed Jews, United Church of Christ, and MCC, to name just a few– and many individuals, both gay and straight, religious and not, oppose Prop. 8, supporting full civil and religious marriage equality for gay people. They don’t want a few conservative denominations restricting their beliefs and telling them what to do.

A vote for Prop. 8 is a vote against their freedom of religion.” – Ben in Oakland

All that is true, but you assume that this is being documented for purely immediate purposes.

Very rarely can much be done about the overall inclinations of an electorate in a short span of time. There is a separate value of documenting the LDS effort in recording just what the argument and politics was finally about, what the root of the opposition is/was.

I don’t want to assert something glorious about myself, but I wrote a couple of times, a few months ago, that the LDS is uniquely invested and involved in suppressing gay rights and gay marriage legalization in California. The LDS has a unique and central gender element in their dogma, a dogma which is essential to the social teachings and key to the social appeal of their group. If/when their internal belief in that dogma diminishes, I believe (and by indications, they suspect something similar) they can’t hold together or attract much in the way of new adherents.

In historical perspective I think Proposition 8 is an outright clash between a major Christian Right religious group and a social liberalization it disagrees with. For the first time in the Culture War a major Christian Right group may have to pay a real long term price in power for its longstanding effort to impose injustices on others. I don’t think it will be the last- other Christian Right groups will fight their Stalingrads on immigration/race and lose, and others will meet their Waterloos on abortion rights in the next 10 years or so.