Religion + Politics = ???
UPDATE: Click here to link to today's story.
I'll have a story in tomorrow's paper (barring calamity) about the state Republican Party asking its membership to gather membership directories from churches.
This is not a new thing for the state party to do, but the practice caused quite the national ruckus during the 2004 presidential election. National political leaders said it was too much an invasion of politics into the pulpit.
As it turns out, the Catholic diocese of Charlotte (which covers Guilford County) and several local pastors I talked to don’t think much of the practice either. A flavor of the responses I got from one local Baptist pastor:
"I would say you're encroaching on sacred territory. When congregations inject politics into their congregational life, it will be bad for everybody . . . We wouldn't want our friends to be selling their personal directories to someone who is selling something. That would be an abuse of our friendship. I would think the same thing about giving it to a political party."
I suspect this will be one of the things that "people are talking about" tomorrow. For your information and discussion purposes, here is the e-mail that sparked this conversation (after the jump):
-----Original Message-----
From: Chris Mears, Political Director [mailto:email@ncgop.org]
Sent: Wednesday, February 15, 2006 1:41 PM
To: Mark Binker
Subject: MEMO: The pew and the ballot box
North Carolina Republican Party
North Carolina Republican Party
==========================================================
MEMORANDUM
To: Registered Republicans in North Carolina
From: Chris Mears, Political Director
Date: February 15, 2006
Re: The pew and the ballot box
Voter registration, education and Get-Out-The-Vote (GOTV) efforts are invaluable to political success in North Carolina. Unfortunately, Democratic candidates know and have mastered this strategy to energize waves of unified voters on Election Day.
The Republican National Committee has completed a study on grassroots activity that reveals that people who regularly attend church usually vote Republican when they vote.
In light of this study’s findings, it is imperative that we register, educate and get these potential voters from the pew to the ballot box. To do this we must know who these people are.
I am requesting that you collect as many church directories as you can and send them to me in an effort to fully register, educate and energize North Carolina’s congregations to vote in the 2006 elections.
The North Carolina Republican Party holds your church’s directory in strict confidence. This information will be used for voter registration, education and GOTV purposes only and will not be used to solicit church members for any other reason. They will simply receive generic voter registration and GOTV materials without reference to your church.
In today’s political climate, voter registration, education and GOTV efforts are essential for success. Your response is crucial. We must educate and energize our base voters, a task only accomplished through voter education and a concentration on GOTV efforts.
If you have any questions or concerns about this initiative, please contact our Political Director, Chris Mears, at (919) 828-6423 or mears@ncgop.org.
For more information, contact NCGOP Political Director Chris Mears at mears@ncgop.org. Please forward this to anyone who may be interested.
Paid for by the N.C. Republican Party, Rob Moseley, Jr., Treasurer.
Not authorized by any candidate.
Visit the North Carolina Republican Party website at www.ncgop.org.
http://ncgoplist.c.topica.com/maaeuV1aboksBbd8vvKbafpLHL/
Comments (2)
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Shall we soon have a Republican Methodist Church (etc.)? I know there are plenty church-going people who do not wear their religion on their shoulders nor do they discuss their vote in public. I believe we are headed for trouble if this continues. It is ridiculous to assume that most church-goers are one party or another.
Posted on February 17, 2006 9:07 AM
i live in affare in cote d'lvoire l beleving in god and l am not marrig.
Posted on March 19, 2006 8:09 AM