Religion and Politics in Ohio

With the establishment of faith-based initiatives by President Bush in the weeks after his first term victory, the line between church and state has become increasingly blurred. In Ohio, several evangelical groups are blurring this seperation even further by seemingly backing specific candidates for office. Rod Parsley, the pastor of the 12,000 member Harvest Ministries in Columbus, has become the focal point of this developing controversy. Among the goals set by Parsley and his associates are to register 400,000 voters and to enlist the help of 2000 “patriot pastors” to “shine the light for godly candidates”. With this unprecedented involvement in politics, other religious organizations are questioning the motivations of Parsley and have now filed complaint with the IRS on the tax-exempt status of his organization. NPR has several excellent audio newscasts on this subject available here and here.