I thought we had a separation of church and state in the United States. Apparently, some ministers overlooked that memo.

This past Sunday, Christian ministers across the country took the laws into their own hands by telling their congregations to vote for John McCain.

According to a recent Wall Street Journal article, at least 33 ministers knew they were breaking the federal tax law but chose to do so anyway in protest.

“As Christians, it’s clear we should vote for John McCain,” said Rev. Fran Pulto of Calvary Chapel in Philadelphia in the Journal article. “He is the only candidate I believe a Christian can vote for.”

For these pastors, pushing conservative social values involving abortion and gay marriage were worth the IRS investigation.

Several Christian and evangelical ministers joined forces with the Alliance Defense Fund, a conservative legal-aid group, which has long argued that the tax code barring clergy from backing candidates from the pulpit is unconstitutional. The ADF, along with these ministers, hopes that the law will be overturned. The protesting ministers are responsible for forwarding the transcript of their sermons to the IRS. Lucky for them, the Alliance Defense Fund promises to represent any pastors who are investigated.

Although economic issues are heavy on the minds of most Americans right now, the impact of religion on politics and the 2008 presidential election cannot be understated. Spiritual beliefs influence political agendas. Is it lawfully and ethically OK for ministers to use their pulpit to endorse and criticize particular candidates?

Currently, there isn’t a law prohibiting ministers from using their freedom of speech for making personal endorsements. However, using their nonprofit churches, with their tax-exempt status, to support a political candidate seems to be a breach of the separation of church and state. Let’s see what the courts say.