February 24, 2000 | Read Time: 2 minutes
Americans United for Separation of Church and State has asked the I.R.S. to investigate Allen African Methodist Episcopal Church, in New York City, after the church invited Vice President Al Gore to its Sunday worship service.
The watchdog group charged that the church’s pastor, the Rev. Floyd Flake, knowingly violated federal law by inviting Mr. Gore, a Democratic presidential candidate, to address the congregation — and then endorsing Mr. Gore.
Mr. Flake, a former congressman, could not be reached for comment.
According to several press reports, Mr. Flake, referring to Mr. Gore, told his congregation, “I don’t do endorsements from across the pulpit because I never know who’s out there watching the types of laws that govern separation of church and state. But I will say to you this morning and you read it well: This should be the next president of the United States.”
Under the law, churches and charities must not participate in a political campaign in behalf of, or in opposition to, a candidate for public office.
Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United, wrote the I.R.S. that Mr. Flake’s statement “indicates that Flake is aware of the provisions in the Internal Revenue Code that bar houses of worship from endorsing or opposing candidates for public office but chose to ignore them. Such a flagrant violation of the law cannot be ignored.”
Meanwhile, the Department of Justice has declined a request from several Republican senators to begin a criminal investigation of Americans United for Separation of Church and State.
The senators said last year that Americans United for Separation of Church and State might have broken federal laws on voter intimidation by warning that churches participating in voter-registration activities sponsored by the Christian Coalition could violate tax statutes.
But, in a letter to Americans United, the Justice Department said that the criminal laws at issue “reach only threats of physical or economic harm that are communicated to voters to stimulate or deter them from registering to vote or voting in federal elections,” not “the mere expression of opinions concerning the possible tax ramifications to organizations that engage in such activities.”
