Underwood said a Methodist conference resolution expressing concern about mountaintop removal coal mining encouraged the anonymous threat.
Public bodies have to take responsibility for their rhetoric.
Underwood said the language of the bomb threat letter received by his office mirrored that of the Methodist resolution - but State Police have refused to release the entire text of the bomb threat letter. The governor dismissed any suggestion that taking on the church where he taught Sunday school would hurt him politically. A spokesman for the state's 120,000 Methodists was surprised and perplexed by the governor's comments. The co-chairman of the state Democratic Party called on Underwood, a Republican, to apologize. It is hard to believe that a politician with his experience would blame the Methodist church for the actions of an individual who is clearly disturbed.