Located in Taylor County, Abilene is home to a variety of churches, including Baptist, Methodist, Pentecostal and Roman Catholic. Many of these churches are multigenerational and offer a variety of services such as community service, youth ministry, community outreach, nursery and adult education. The majority of the churches are also certified as nonpartisan, meaning they do not support or oppose candidates for political office.
The Abilene City Council race was marked by a battle over infusing religious values into local decision making. At least five churches displayed campaign signs for three conservative Christian candidates who promised to protect children by removing what they deemed obscene books from public libraries and banning family-friendly drag shows in the city. The three also vowed to establish community standards based on Judeo-Christian principles.
One of the candidates, Scott Beard, a pastor at Fountaingate Fellowship, was accused of violating the Johnson Amendment, a 1954 law that prohibits nonprofit organizations from interfering in political campaigns. A group that promotes separation of church and state filed an ethics complaint against Beard, who lost to retired Air Force Col. Brian Yates.
The same group has filed another complaint against another of the candidates, Ryan Goodwin and James Sargent, who are both associated with Mosaic Church, for alleged violations of campaign finance laws. Both have denied wrongdoing.
