Trump IRS Restores Free Speech for Churches

_WHAT’S HAPPENING_

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has now stated that churches can endorse political candidates during religious services without risking their tax-exempt status.

In a joint court filing with the National Religious Broadcasters Association and two Texas churches, the tax agency effectively created a carve-out from the Johnson Amendment — a 1954 provision that prohibits tax-exempt organizations from engaging in political campaigns.

This move fulfills a long-standing promise from President Donald Trump, who vowed in 2017 to "totally destroy" the amendment and allow faith leaders to speak freely about politics.

_THE FACTS_

• The Johnson Amendment, passed in 1954 by then-Senator Lyndon Johnson, bars tax-exempt groups from political campaigning.

• For years, pastors would send their political sermons to the IRS as a form of civil disobedience. The IRS never dared to prosecute because they knew they’d lose in court.

• In 2008, the Alliance Defending Freedom launched “Freedom Pulpit Sunday,” encouraging thousands of pastors nationwide to defy the IRS with political preaching.

• The National Religious Broadcasters just argued in the court filing that churches “cannot fulfill their spiritual duties … if they fail to address [political] issues and inform their listeners how the views of various candidates compare to the Bible.”

• The IRS now acknowledges that the Johnson Amendment infringed upon churches’ free exercise of religion and freedom of speech.

• This means churches can now preach on candidates and name names from the pulpit, all without fearing the IRS.

• President Barack Obama used to campaign in churches, but those churches never faced an IRS penalty. The same goes for Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, and Trump.

• Numerous conservative churches previously faced complaints for endorsing candidates in national elections.

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