FOR BLACK MINISTERS, POLITICAL TONE SHIFTS: From the Christian Science Monitor

A recent conference on black leadership in Massachusetts moved from candid to heated only after the last question of the weekend. By the time Ken Reeves sat down, he had released a wellspring of frustration.

Mr. Reeves, a former mayor of Cambridge, was distressed not over relations with other races, but with fellow blacks--specifically those who occupy local pulpits. When he voiced concern that black ministers were associating with conservative interest groups, he was met with loud applause and waves of approval.

The conference organizer, state Sen. Dianne Wilkerson (D), was prompted to admit that she had purposely left the subject off the agenda because emotions were running high.

Tension between black clergy and black political leaders, while not new, has rarely reached such a pitch. At the root of today's divide are two key questions in the nation's "culture wars"--whether gays should be allowed to marry and whether religious-backed social programs should be eligible for federal funding. ...

While some blacks complain that their ministers have been "co-opted" by conservatives, others say such accusations amount to an effort to shoehorn all blacks into one place on the ideological spectrum. "The black church has a relatively conservative theology if you ask them about the Bible, and an incredibly radical social theology," says Massachusetts state Rep. Byron Rushing (D). "This combination makes them very politically useful."

The Hub is home to some of the most high-profile black ministers in the country, several of whom have worked closely with the Bush administration on implementing faith-based social programs. Others are part of what Republican Gov. Mitt Romney calls his "kitchen cabinet"--an informal but influential circle of advisers.

When several of these ministers recently joined the Roman Catholic Church in opposing gay marriage, it seemed to many black political leaders that their clergy had been abducted by America's right wing. ...

Since the New Deal and the civil rights movement, the allegiance of black ministers to the Democratic machine has been axiomatic. "When it comes to Democrats requesting a chance to speak, black preachers have very few qualms," says Robert Woodson, president of the National Center for Neighborhood Enterprise in Washington.

But that nearly universal allegiance may be shifting. President Bush, some experts suggest, has been able to leverage the heavily religious tone of his administration toward securing more friends and political allies among black ministers.

His main tool: funding for "faith-based" programs. ...

"Nobody speaks to as many black people on a regular basis as the black minister," says Mr. Henry.

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