About this "GOP as the party of church-goers" thing

In Daily Kos, a blogger calling her-or-himself Georgia10 has come up with a couple pieces of information, one quite disturbing, the other grimly satisfying. First, quoting from the Washington Post:

The North Carolina Republican Party asked its members this week to send their church directories to the party, drawing furious protests from local and national religious leaders.[...]

Georgia10 adds:

This isn't the first time North Carolina's mix of church & politics has made the news. Recall that last year, it was a church in North Carolina that purged all its liberal members who voted for John Kerry. But as the Reverends quoted in the article prove, the churches realize that the actions are improper. Maybe they're also starting to feel a bit used, you think?

Second (emphasis mine),

...the American delegation of the World Council of Churches came out strongly against Bush administration policies this week. The WCC has 347 member churches covering 500 million believers. The U.S. Conference issued a stinging rebuke of administration policies:

It said the U.S. government turned a deaf ear to the voice of the church in the country and in the world, using God's name instead "in national agendas that are nothing short of idolatrous."

"We confess that we have failed to raise a prophetic voice loud enough and persistent enough to deter our leaders from this path of pre-emptive war. Lord, have mercy," the letter said.

Hmmm. Is the GOP sure it wants to get churches involved in politics this time around? They sound pissed. Really pissed.

It's been said before, and it makes a nice bumper sticker, but that doesn't make it any less true: The moral majority is neither.