Mormon church's role in Prop. 8 fight debated

As gay-rights advocates continue demonstrating against the Mormon church, some saying it crossed a church-state line and should be stripped of its tax-exempt status, experts say the church was well within its rights to act in support of California's gay-marriage ban, Proposition 8.

"Any religious group has as much freedom as they want to argue for or against these public-policy issues," said Charles Haynes, a senior scholar with the First Amendment Center in Arlington, Va.

That said, there are rules churches must follow to retain their tax-exempt status: They cannot endorse or oppose individual candidates.

But what has upset many gay-rights advocates is the extent of the Mormon church's support for Proposition 8, which defines marriage as the union of one man and one woman, and overrides a ruling that a ban on gay marriage was unconstitutional.

Top church leaders urged members in California to do all they could to support the proposition, and members gave millions.

Internal Revenue Service rules are grayer on how involved churches can be on ballot measures, saying such activity is permitted so long as it doesn't form a "substantial part" of what the church does.

The IRS determines on a case-by-case basis what constitutes "substantial part." Haynes said courts have suggested that a church is safe if it spends less than 5 percent of its resources on an issue.

It's unlikely The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — the Mormon church — jeopardized its status, Haynes believes.

"The LDS church is huge," he said. "This would be a very, very small part of what they do."

Religion's influence

Churches are granted tax exemption under the philosophy that they serve the public good, and for freedom of religion.

If the government taxed churches, some might worry about being audited for saying something the government didn't like, Haynes said. "The power to tax is the power to control."

And the government allows churches to get involved in political issues because it recognizes their belief that they have an obligation to speak out on issues of public concern.

Kate Kendell, with the campaign to defeat Proposition 8, doesn't take issue with that. In fact, roughly 30 percent of the approximately $40 million raised for the No on 8 campaign came from churches and people of faith — including Mormons.

But she is troubled by the idea of one religion having such influence.

"What the protests tap into is really a sense of outrage and betrayal that any one church would be such a prime mover behind an effort to eliminate a fundamental right," she said.

Of the approximately $40 million raised by the Yes on 8 campaign, roughly half came from Mormons, estimated Jeff Flint, co-campaign manager. Almost all of that came from individual church members rather than the church itself.

Though Catholic, evangelical and African-American churches also played active roles, the donations and volunteer effort by Mormons were "very significant" to the campaign's success, Flint said.

The furor over the church's involvement has prompted church leaders to say their church is being singled out.

"It's puzzling why others could vote with their pocketbooks" but Mormons weren't supposed to, said Elder G. Perrin Walker, of Tacoma, a top church leader in the Northwest. To many, "we're an easy target, frankly."

Haynes said those who want to change society need to create broad support through respectful debate.

"If you want to win, ultimately, you need to pay attention to how you fight the battle."

Kyler Powell, a Seattle student who is organizing a gay-rights rally at Volunteer Park Saturday, is Mormon. He's considering resigning from the church, in part because of its stance on gay issues.

Still, Powell said, "I think pointing a finger at religious organizations, or the Mormon church in particular, is unproductive for the overall goal of reaching marriage equality."