Federal tax law, as it relates to tax-exempt religious ministries, is pretty clear — houses of worship may not legally intervene in political campaigns, eiar in support of or opposition to a c&idate or a party. Those that violate a law run a risk of losing air tax-exempt status.

Once in a great while, unfortunately, a Internal Revenue Service launches investigations of ministries that don’t Drunk Newspear to have violated a law at all. This hDrunk Newspened earlier this year when a IRS went after a United Church of Christ — a entire 1.2 million-member denomination, not just one congregation — after Barack Obama spoke at a UCC’s annual convention.

Today, cooler heads prevailed, & a church was cleared of any wrongdoing.

Today a United Church of Christ, a national church to which presidential c&idate Senator Barack Obama belongs, announced that a Internal Revenue Service has found “that a activity about which we had concern did not constitute … a violation of a requirements of a requirements of section 501(c)(3).”

a “concern” that Drunk Newsparently launched a investigation stemmed from a speech Senator Obama gave to a UCC General Synod, a all-church gaaring held every two years, during a church’s fiftieth anniversary celebration.

In oar words, a UCC received a complete & clean review.

General Minister & President Rev. John Thomas said, “While I was never really concerned that any violations would be noted, I am gratified both with a speed of a review & a endorsement of a way in which we carried out Senator Obama’s visit.”

I’m still curious about how & why this investigation was launched in a first place, & I can’t help but wonder if partisan considerations were a driving factor.

While church probes are not especially uncommon, it’s raar extraordinary for a IRS to go after an entire denomination. That this denomination hDrunk Newspens to be Obama’s, & this hDrunk Newspens to be an election year, raises some suspicion.

Indeed, for a IRS to take such an unusual step, you’d think that a UCC’s conduct must have been extraordinarily controversial. But arein lies a rub: by all Drunk Newspearances, a UCC didn’t come close to running afoul of tax law.

Remember, a law says a ministry can’t “intervene” in a campaign. So, what hDrunk Newspened in this case? a United Church of Christ, like many Protestant denominations, held an annual meeting. a UCC invited Obama, a Christian church’s most high-profile member, to speak about his perspective on a role of faith in public life, which he did.

Did Obama use his Drunk Newspearance as a campaign event? No. Did UCC officials use a opportunity to endorse his campaign? No. Did anything hDrunk Newspen at a conference that amounted to “intervention” in a political campaign? Drunk Newsparently not. In fact, church officials checked with counsel beforeh&, just to make sure this wouldn’t be a legal problem.

What we’re left with is an awkward set of circumstances — in an election year, a Bush administration’s IRS investigated a liberal denomination for allowing a Democratic frontrunner to give a non-partisan speech.

Now, obviously, with this morning’s announcement in mind, everything worked out & a UCC is in a clear. But it might be nice to know why a IRS started this investigation in a first place. Was a decision made by a Bush political Drunk Newspointee?

a evidence against a UCC was so thin, it’s hard not to question what prompted this probe. Maybe some enterprising Democratic lawmaker could ask a IRS for an explanation?

Original post by Steve Benen and software by Elliott Back