Religion’s lobbying influence remains untapped

Stacy J. Willis

Saturday, Feb. 3, 2001 | 11:06 a.m.

When God knocks on lawmakers' doors, he rarely carries much political juice.

Instead, religious lobbyists must appeal to legislators' consciences -- hoping to sway their vote on matters ranging from abortion to welfare, the death penalty to drug-rehabilitation programs.

And although groups such as the Religious Alliance in Nevada (RAIN) have worn their soles at the Capitol pitching piety for years, they are still trying to raise their profile and increase their influence.

"I think the religious groups could carry a lot of political clout, but they don't exercise it," said Jan Gilbert, lobbyist for the social-activist group Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada. Gilbert sometimes enlists the help of clergy to lobby on social issues.

"I think there is a tremendous need for religious voices in this state. But most of them only come up (to Carson City) once or twice, which isn't effective. You need to be here for the whole session, and there aren't any that I'm aware of that have that kind of presence."

Some churches have developed political power through member networking rather than official lobbying. For example, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has influenced political issues ranging from the Equal Rights Amendment in 1975 to neighborhood gambling in 1997 strictly through its numbers of voters and officeholders.

But other religious organizations are hoping to step up their legislative presence this year with lobbying efforts.

RAIN plans to meet in Carson City today and Monday to develop lobbying strategies for the legislative session, which starts Monday.

RAIN is an advocacy group that represents the Episcopal Diocese of Nevada, the state's two Catholic Dioceses, the Lutheran Advocacy Ministry of Nevada, the Nevada Sierra District of the United Methodist Church and the Presbyterian Church U.S.A.'s Nevada chapter.

Formed in 1995 as an alternative to more conservative Christian political organizations such as the Christian Coalition, RAIN is a home-grown advocacy group with no national counterpart.

"We are an umbrella voice for mainline Christians in Nevada," said the Rev. Ron Rentner, pastor of Lord of Mercy Lutheran Church in Sparks and president of the organization.

Social responsibility

"Religion at the Legislature used to be just the Christian Coalition and the Eagle Forum -- two very conservative groups who claimed to speak for Christians. We formed to give the different point of view, a more mainline point of view," Rentner said. "We are here for social responsibility and impact, but we're not trying to be the moral police of Nevada."

The group has recruited former state Commerce Director Larry Struve to lobby this year, primarily on issues related to "those whose voices aren't heard" such as "children, old people and poor people," Rentner said.

Struve said his mission is to raise the group's profile.

"First, it is important to make the Legislature aware that the alliance exists. I think that's going to be an evolving process," Struve said.

"We're going to take a two-pronged approach," he said. "We are going to work to disseminate information about particular bills to our congregations all over the state and encourage individuals to contact their lawmakers. And I will be in Carson City working with other groups to monitor hearings and knock on legislators' doors."

RAIN has yet to identify bills it will track, but have four areas of interest: adult criminal justice, juvenile justice, welfare reform and health care.

RAIN wants to see more funding rehabilitation, halfway houses and alternative-sentencing programs, among others.

The group also plans to continue its advocacy for the Family to Family Connection, a 4-year-old program that provides new mothers with education and resources such as inoculation schedules and food stamps.

The statewide program started with an $8 million appropriation in 1997 and had its budget trimmed to about $6 million in 1999, Rentner said.

"And now it's on the chopping block again," he said. Gov. Kenny Guinn's proposed budget reduces Family to Family's outlay to less than $2 million.

In addition to RAIN, Nevada's Catholic dioceses created a new governmental arm this year: the Nevada Catholic Conference. Although the two Catholic dioceses (Reno and Las Vegas) participate in RAIN, they decided they also should have a lobbyist to represent Catholic-specific issues.

Range of issues

Lobbyist Bob Payant will represent the Catholic Conference on issues ranging from Sen. Joe Neal's anti-death penalty measure to any bills that would affect reproductive rights. The Catholic Church opposes the death penalty and abortion.

However, the Diocese of Las Vegas is still lacking a bishop since former Bishop Daniel Walsh was reassigned in May, leaving the state's Catholic political mission in slow gear until his replacementis appointed.

In previous sessions the Christian Coalition has had a presence at the Legislature, but the Nevada chapter of the national organization closed shop.

The coalition hung its hat on its anti-abortion and anti-homosexuality beliefs, among a long list of other political interests.

Started by evangelist Pat Robertson in Virginia in 1989, the Christian Coalition grew in size and influence under the leadership of Ralph Reed. Once counting 2 million members, it is is widely credited with aiding the 1994 Republican sweep of Congress.

But in the midst of shifting political tides, the organization's revenues dropped from $26.5 million in 1996 to $17 million in 1998. In 1997, the coalition ceased publishing its monthly magazine and laid off about a fifth of the 200 national staff members.

Nevada Christian Coalition organizers tried to revamp their chapter in 1999 but weren't able to keep it afloat.

The Nevada Eagle Forum and Concerned Citizens of Nevada consider themselves to be more "constitutional liberties" groups than conservative religious organizations. However, their politics are often shared by the religious right, and lobbyist Lucille Lusk says Concerned Citizens will be active at the statehouse this year.

"Our constituency cuts across the boundaries of many faith-based groups, and is not so much a religious organization as a group that believes in an eternal sense of right and wrong," Lusk said. "We are a group of people who all believe in a higher power that sets right and wrong."

Monitoring bills

Concerned Citizens has not initiated any legislation this session, Lusk said, but is closely monitoring pre-filed bills that are aligned with, or in opposition to, the group's mission of "protecting constitutional liberties and strengthening families."

That mission has led the group to lobby on a variety of issues, from supporting a measure that would strengthen the burden of proof required of the government before it may usurp private property, to opposing a measure that would give 12-year-olds the right to flee their parents' home to live in a shelter.

Additionally, the Interfaith Council for Workers Justice, which includes representatives from a variety of faiths including Judaism and Christianity, will be getting its feet wet this legislative session.

New process

"We're following a number of things from public records legislation to education bills -- but we're kind of new at this," council Director Mike Slater said. "We haven't lobbied before so we're just trying to familiarize ourselves with the system. But we're in the process of opening a Reno office, and we hope to tie it in with lobbying."

The council lobbied for voting rights for felons in 1999, but the measure failed.

As to how lawmakers respond to religious lobbyists, Sen. Maurice Washington, R-Sparks, has a unique perspective.

Washington is a minister himself, presiding over the Center of Hope Christian Church.

"People told me that I would have to separate the two -- my religion and my politics -- like oil and vinegar," he said.

"But that is not always true. Religion can be influential -- it just depends on the legislator.

"Some are pretty apprehensive about religious lobbyists, because immediately they think of the separation of church and state. They say, 'You can't legislate morality.'

"But I think that's wrong, because we legislate morality all of the time. It just depends on whose morality you want to legislate, and I think that might as well be mine."