Church and State collide in Columbus

The Church and State in Ohio's Electoral Politics forum discussion in Columbus, Ohio today was both entertaining and educational. The discussion featured Rev. Barry Lynn (Executive Director of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State) and Jay Sekulow (Director of the American Center for Law and Justice). In addition, the panel included Phil Burress (Citizens for Community Values), Russell Johnson (Fairfield Christian Church), Marcus Owens (counsel to All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena, CA) and Eric Williams (North Congregational United Church of Christ).

While the discussion was intended to focus on the mix of church and politics in Ohio (and in particular Williams' IRS complaint against Johnson's church for his support of Ken Blackwell's candidacy for Governor of Ohio), the controversy over an IRS investigation at All Saints Episcopal Church dominated the discussion as rivals Lynn and Sekulow both agreed that the IRS should not be in the business of monitoring speeches in churches. While Lynn tried to differentiate between issue advocacy and overt political endorsements, Sekulow cut through the distinction by reading parts of George Regas' clearly partisan, anti-war speech (given on the eve of the 2004 Presidential Election). Sekulow mused that it would be like a conservative church speaking out against abortion only to conclude by saying "Now, go vote for the Republican of your choice".

While there were some comparisons made between the All Saints case and the Blackwell case, Williams was oddly careful about the distinctions that led him to complain to the IRS and instead spoke in generalities about his feelings on church and state. Sekulow made it clear there's not much difference between a partisan speech in a pulpit and an overt political endorsement. While he disagreed with the content of Regas' speech, Sekulow noted that he supported his right to say it.

One of the lighter (and ironic) moments of the discussion came when Marcus Owens (counsel to All Saints Episcopal Church), while sitting just to the right of Williams, accepted an offer from Johnson to discuss the IRS compalint against his church and implied that he was open to defending them also.