In WednesdayâÄôs letter to the editor about voting in churches, I noticed a common misconception. The United States Declaration of Independence and the Constitution have no mention of the separation of church and state. Churches and other places of worship have the opportunity to promote any political ideas that they may choose, provided they stay within 501(c)(3) guidelines, and they do not break voting-location rules.
How would you feel if your voting location was in the lobby of a large corporate building? Would you feel pressured by big business to vote for it? How would you feel if your location was at a factory lobby? You would feel a different form of pressure. Even if voting happened in a school, youâÄôre going to have the pressure of promoting education around you.
Unfortunately, about the only locations we can have our places of voting be âÄî without truly being pressured by anyone âÄî is at a government legislative office or our own homes. And simply put, we do not have enough of these to actively run the voting process.
American churches have been gracious to open doors for voters. Churches have done extremely well of making locations impartial and fair for all voters. This is not a violation of separation of church and state, because there is no specific clause in our founding documents that prohibits state functions from occurring at religious locations or implications of such prohibitions.
American churches are providing a service above and beyond their own call of duty. They sometimes even provide food for people who may have to wait in line for extended periods of time. I say letâÄôs be thankful to the churches of Minnesota for their great service.