November 9, 2006 | Read Time: 1 minute
As the election season wrapped up, a nonprofit watchdog organization accused two Kansas churches of breaking federal law by engaging in political activities.
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, has asked the Internal Revenue Service to investigate whether the Light of the World Christian Center and Wanamaker Woods Church, both in Topeka, improperly supported the re-election of Phill Kline, the state’s attorney general.
The watchdog organization’s charges are based on a memorandum written by Mr. Kline and obtained by several Kansas news-media outlets that detailed his efforts to recruit churches to aid his efforts to win re-election.
Both Light of the World Christian Center and Wanamaker Woods Church agreed to help distribute Mr. Kline’s campaign literature, he said in the memo.
The churches have denied any wrongdoing.
Under federal law, religious congregations and charities are prohibited from participating in partisan political campaigns in support of, or in opposition to, candidates for public office.
