c. 2006 Religion News Service
LANCASTER, Ohio _ The Ohio Restoration Project has attracted plenty of attention _ and not just for the zeal of its leader, the Rev. Russell Johnson of Lancaster’s Fairfield Christian Church.
The New York Times, USA Today, The American Prospect, National Public Radio and HBO, among others, all have come to Ohio to cover the influence that evangelical church leaders like Johnson are trying to exert on Ohio politics.
But fellow religious leaders _ all liberals, Johnson says _ have also criticized the group for activities they contend cross the line separating church and state.
In January, 31 ministers from Ohio filed a complaint with the Internal Revenue Service asking that the agency investigate Johnson’s church and the Ohio Restoration Project.
The complaint also names the World Harvest Church in Canal Winchester, run by televangelist Rod Parsley, and its affiliated Center for Moral Clarity and Reformation Ohio.
The complaint charges that these organizations are promoting conservative officeholders, especially Ken Blackwell, the Ohio secretary of state and candidate for governor. The complaint cites church-sponsored events featuring a single candidate, Blackwell; partisan voter registration; and biased voter education materials.
About 100 church leaders, including those who filed the complaint, have formed “We Believe Ohio,” an organization to push social-justice issues into the public arena as a way to move the political debate away from such issues as gay marriage.
The IRS has not acted on the complaint against Johnson and Parsley. But IRS Commissioner Mark Everson used a speech at the City Club in Cleveland last month to announce new procedures for churches and other tax-exempt charities engaged in political campaigns, an announcement some believe was intended to send a message to Ohio churches.
Johnson denies violating the law, noting that Blackwell and others don’t speak during Sunday morning church services and that the Ohio Restoration Project’s political activities are nonpartisan. He avoids, for example, introducing Blackwell the candidate, as opposed to Blackwell the secretary of state, at the group’s events.
Later this month, the Restoration Project will distribute 500,000 copies of its voter guide, noting where politicians stand on abortion and other issues, through CitizenUSA, a conservative paper distributed mainly through churches.
CitizenUSA’s Web site displays a letter it received from Blackwell in 2005 commending it for being the “primary outlet in Ohio … for readers interested in a conservative and Godly perspective to the news.”
The Restoration Project has invited Republican and Democratic statewide campaigns to advertise in its voter guide.
“Some people see our activities and think this is about 2006, but we have been doing this for 20 years,” Johnson said.
He added that liberal media and politicians are critical because he proudly displays what he describes as his only bias:
“I take a biblical worldview,” he says. “Can we teach biblical values without Big Brother muzzling us?”
MO/PH END RNS
(Mark Naymik writes for The Plain Dealer in Cleveland)
Editors: To obtain photos of an Ohio Restoration Project rally, go to the RNS Web site at https://religionnews.com. On the lower right, click on “photos,” then search by subject or slug.
