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  Falwell said the September seminar would advise clergy that they can speak their minds on moral issues and weigh in on politics, as long as they don't spend tax-exempt money doing it.

Churches that go too far in advocating for or against a political party or candidate jeopardize their religious tax exemption with the Internal Revenue Service.

In complaints filed with federal agencies by Campaign Legal Center Americans United for Separation of Church and State, Falwell was accused of improperly engaging in politics by endorsing Bush's re-election in a newsletter published on his Web site, falwell.com.

Falwell said that he wanted more evangelical ministers to stand up to those who threaten such actions against them.

"We're going to be careful not to break the law, but we are also going to be careful not to be intimidated by left-wing thugs, not to let them intimidate evangelical pastors into silence," Falwell said in a telephone interview from Decatur, Ala., where he was preaching Wednesday evening.

Robert Boston, a spokesman for Americans United for Separation of Church and State in Washington, said Falwell was "interpreting the law as he wishes it was, not as it is."

"Any pastor who would accept legal advice in this area from Jerry Falwell is playing with fire," Boston said, noting that Falwell's "Old Time Gospel Hour" television ministry in 1993 paid $50,000 in back taxes for political activity in 1986 and 1987 that was deemed improper.

The "Politics and the Pulpit" conference will be Sept. 26-29 at Liberty University in Lynchburg. Falwell is the school's founder and president.

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