The End of the Hated Johnson Amendment?
White House Action Ensures Churches ‘Can No Longer Be Intimidated’ by IRS for Endorsing Candidates
Pastors may now endorse candidates from the pulpit without fear of losing their tax-exempt status, thanks to a Trump administration court settlement that conservatives hail as a victory that will “no longer allow the IRS to bully us,” while liberals denounce it as a “Christian Nationalist” plot that “threatens our democracy.”
The Trump administration agreed Monday not to prosecute churches that formally endorse or condemn a candidate during elections. The National Religious Broadcasters (NRB), Intercessors for America, and two Texas churches sued the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) last August, arguing a 1954 tax code provision known as the Johnson Amendment violates the First Amendment and has been used to persecute conservative churches.
In a consent decree filed on July 7 in the U.S. District Court of Eastern Texas in Tyler, the Trump administration noted that, for many churches, “the exercise of their religious beliefs includes teaching or instructing their congregations regarding all aspects of life, including guidance concerning the impact of faith on the choices inherent in electoral politics.” Therefore, it will no longer threaten churches that endorse candidates with losing their 501(c)(3) status. The ruling still applies to other nonprofits. A consent decree usually cannot be appealed, except for fraud.
“This is a victory. Pastors need to understand that…
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