Pastor Ronnie Spriggs Urged Congregation To Vote Against Obama; Targeted By Americans United for Separation of Church and State

Pastor Ronnie Spriggs of Hager Hill Freewill Baptist Church

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- An eastern Kentucky Baptist pastor troubled by President Barack Obama's views on gay marriage violated federal law when he urged his followers to vote the president out of office in November, a Washington watchdog group said.

Pastor Ronnie Spriggs of Hager Hill Freewill Baptist Church said during a May 13 sermon that he wants Obama voted out of office because of the president's support of gay marriage.

Obama "said that he believes that gays ought to have the right to marry in the United States. That's the president of the United States who said that," Spriggs told his flock during the sermon. "I don't know about you folks, but I'm going on record and I don't care who knows it. I want the guy out."

The statements elicited cheers from the flock and supporting shouts of "Amen!"

Americans United for Separation of Church and State said Spriggs' comments violate a federal law that says tax-exempt churches should not oppose a candidate.

Executive Director Barry Lynn said the group receives several tips during election seasons of churches that may be violating the law, but he said only a few reports are sent to the IRS.

"This is one of the most over the top, unequivocal statements of opposition to a candidate that we have seen in a long time. Usually it's a little bit fuzzier," Lynn said. "This guy clearly doesn't care what the law says."

He said so far this year, the group has filed two IRS complaints concerning the presidential election.

Spriggs did not return phone calls to his home and the church. A video of the sermon was posted on the Johnson County church's website.

Spriggs touched on the topic briefly during the sermon, beginning by announcing, "I said I wasn't going to get into it but I will for a moment ... I'm disappointed in our president, I'm going on record."

He said "this country can't afford that kind of ideology in that office."

Obama earlier this month declared his unequivocal support for gay marriage, the first time a sitting president has done so. Gay rights advocates cheered Obama's declaration, after urging him for years to show his support. The president once opposed gay marriage but more recently had said his views were "evolving."

Lynn said Spriggs is free to condemn gay marriage to his followers, but he crosses the line by encouraging them to vote against the president.

"What violates (tax code) is linking it to a candidate and opposition to a candidate," he said. His group filed another complaint last month against the Catholic Diocese of Peoria, where bishops urged listeners to vote against Obama.

Lynn said if the IRS decides to investigate, there are a range of punishments including the church losing its tax-exempt status. But he said he believes that has happened only once in the last 20 years when a church in New York took paid for a newspaper ad urging readers not to vote for Bill Clinton during his first race for president.

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Comments

[jazz in michigan]

09:28 PM on 09/17/2012

The religious communities who refuse to vote for President Obama should also turn down his health care benefits, credit card reforms, stem cell transplants, equal pay for women, etc., that he passed during his adminimmunitystration. Wouldn;t that be hypocritical to accept a donation from someone in the gay community, and then refuse the gay person his rights. Let him who is without sin...... The bible does speak clearly about homosexuality, BUT it also speaks about fornication, adultry. lying, stealing.........

[jazz in michigan]

09:14 PM on 09/17/2012

I recommend the pastors search on youtube for the video entitled Inkster elect Obama. It will show you another point of view.

[Sethjj1975]

02:05 PM on 05/31/2012

If you violate the law then you should be punished. A concept so simple even the religious should be able to comprehend it.

[Adiani]

05:34 PM on 05/29/2012

These pastors are all hypocrites! If Obama had spoken out and reminded Christians that the bible says if a woman is not a virgin on her wedding night, or if you divorce your wife and remarry, you are an adulterer in the eyes of God, and he was going to pass a law demanding a death sentence for non virgins, and a death sentence for adulterers, would the pastor have said "Yeah, we have a President who stands by the bible so go vote for him"! I think not. Heterosexuals want their dispensation from old testament laws, but want to throw the book at gays. They treat the bible as a salad bar, choosing what they will put on their plates and what they will not. Religion is becoming too transparent and can be seen as a way that those in power use scriptures as a way to control their congregations. It is disgusting!

[bg1966]

05:15 PM on 05/29/2012

By revoking tax-exempt status on all of these churches that want to play politics, large (Catholic) and small, I wonder how much of our national debt we could close?

[dtallwalk]

11:05 PM on 05/28/2012

Hay pasture why only one issue you should look at all issues not just one this make you look backwards. And you're proud of it.

[sopullmyfinger]

02:40 PM on 05/28/2012

This is welcome news! Religion and churches must be removed from the everyday lives of those who don't believe in deity or who believe differently. Those churches who insist on violating the core requirement of their tax-exempt status must lose it.

[letsmakeitright]

02:46 AM on 05/28/2012

They need to not be afraid to take away tax exemptions from these churches. They receive special benefits that come with rules. They are free to break the rules with no consequences because it would be bad PR to do something negative to a church in this country.

[farmilyman]

01:09 AM on 05/28/2012

Hard to believe that people give their hard earned money to people like this that do nothing for the good of society.

[duxguts]

09:48 PM on 05/27/2012

There seems to be more and more of these clowns coming out every week.
They have plenty of time for this because they don't have real jobs and they don't have to worry about paying taxes like everyone else.

[VinZenTexaN]

03:27 PM on 05/27/2012

A country dominated by televangelism would be unrecognizable to the Founding Fathers, who envisioned religion as personal and spiritua, not social and political. No particular variety of religion was intended to control the political agenda, to set the community's moral tone or to judge who are the true believers and members of our society. But this is precisely the objective of the electric church - Razelle Frankel

I am treated as evil by people who claim that they are being oppressed because they are not allowed to force me to practice what they do.

“Hence today I believe I am acting in accordance with the will of the Almighty Creator” –Adolph Hitler

If I were not an atheist, I would believe in a God who would choose to save people on the basis of the totality of their lives and not the pattern of their words. I think he would prefer an honest and righteous atheist to a TV preacher whose every word is God, God, God, and whose every deed is foul, foul, foul. ~Isaac Asimov, I. Asimov: A Memoir

[Christina Zuniga]

09:59 AM on 05/27/2012

Religion has been the cause of so much death and hate. It was because of religion that we had the dark ages and yet people want to take us back there. We will never truly be free until religion goes away. When a group of people are refused the same rights as everyone else because of religion, then religion is wrong. The question to ask is what rights will they take away next. I do not believe in any religion, so justify to me why I or anyone else must be subject to those laws? My morality comes from me, not some book written thousand years ago. My morality comes from the laws of humanity, not some made up imaginary friend. If the only reason people are good is because they want to get into that country club in the sky, then I feel scared of where this country is going.

[saganz999]

05:46 PM on 05/26/2012

I believe that ministers should be free to say whatever they want to say inside their place of worship . . . HOWEVER . . . ALSO I believe that churches should have to pay taxes because they benefit from public spending just like the rest of us do.

[rtgmath]

02:35 PM on 05/26/2012

Spriggs went on record. He has entered the political arena. Let him lose his tax exemption.

I find it interesting that Christians no longer believe that "the powers that be are ordained of God." But then, fundamentalists have long ignored parts of the Bible they find inconvenient.

[Ruth Rocchio]

10:16 PM on 05/25/2012

I always get confused by the Christians who forgot that it was Christ who said "render unto Cesar what is Cesar and unto God what is God's." I have always thought it thought provoking, but a statement against politics and materialism and a call to faith and discernment. Now the Catholics will not feed the poor because they are throwing a temper tantrum over insuring birth control for employees? A lot of someones need to go BACK to seminary and study harder.

[DaveRIndy]

01:12 PM on 05/26/2012

So Jesus believed in separation of Church and State.

[Nina Spencer]

05:53 PM on 05/26/2012

What difference does it make? Our Founding Fathers most assuredly believed in the Separation of Church and State. This is a SECULAR nation. Freedom of religion also includes freedom FROM religion. Christians have no right to decide that their beliefs should take precedence over everyone else's.

[Klad InVermont]

05:20 PM on 05/27/2012

Funny how these "religious organizations" bray that there is no such thing as "separation of church & state" when they want to codify their beliefs into law, but when they actively campaign politically, and are called on it, then the "separation of church & state" suits the maintenance of their tax-exempt status.
These piggies want it both ways!