The OWS (Occupy Wall Street) discussion morphed into two other discussions, so I'll start two new threads.
My original thought was that neither church nor corporations are "people" with the rights of First Amendment free speech, but now I am not so sure.
On one side, I like some of the stances taken by the UMC and/or Catholic Church (probably others) on social issues and as Timothy said, it gives the church a "voice", a hopefully spiritual and compassionate voice at that.
But I know that some otherwise faithful members of those institutions often disagree. I've seen that first hand on a one hour drive with my son's church (UMC) golf league. The subject was the new Alabama Immigration Law which the UMC had denounced. It was three for and three against the new law, but cordial. I also know that many of us are frustrated at stances taken by the Christian Life Committee (?) - Richard Land - in the political arena and others were bothered by the public stances of the Baptist Joint Committee (so much so the SBC kicked them out). How dare a denominaton and/or church take a stand for us.
So I guess I'm ending up with a nauanced view that would allow churches/denominations to take stances when there is a clear Jesus-ness (how's that for a new word) factor in play - like care for the "least of these" / loving even your enemies. And be careful not to apply our own opinions to Jesus.
Corporations (who do not have a common bond in Jesus, but instead a common bond in mammon) should speak out on policy issues only in the rarest cases and should not be allowed to quietly (without attribution) to peddle influence via money - Overturn Citizens United.
I'm open to other thoughts.