US EditionNewsom in South Carolina: New IRS rules on churches ‘politically convenient’ for Trump
UNITED STATES, JUL 10 – The IRS reversed a 70-year policy, allowing churches to endorse political candidates without losing tax-exempt status, recognizing political speech from the pulpit as protected religious communication.
- In 2024, the National Religious Broadcasters and Intercessors for America filed a lawsuit in Texas challenging the Johnson Amendment's ban on churches endorsing political candidates.
- The lawsuit follows decades of enforcement since the 1954 Johnson Amendment, which prevents tax-exempt organizations like churches from engaging in political endorsements.
- Since a 2017 executive order by President Trump limiting Treasury actions against such speech, the IRS now treats endorsements from the pulpit as private expression, effectively allowing political endorsements by churches.
- On Wednesday, President Trump expressed his approval of a recent IRS ruling that allows churches to openly support political candidates, reversing previous restrictions.
- This shift could increase political influence by religious groups, especially on the political right, and prompted Republican lawmakers to introduce legislation to formally remove the Johnson Amendment this year.
32 Articles
32 Articles
Churches can speak freely. The IRS has confirmed it
By JIM MINNERY | ALASKA FAMILY COUNCIL As part of a consent judgment filed in a US District Court in Texas on Monday, the US Internal Revenue Service has agreed to release churches from a decades-long prohibition against engagement in “political speech,” referred to as the “Johnson Amendment.” The judgment, which was accepted by the court, states, […] The post Churches can speak freely. The IRS has confirmed it appeared first on Must Read Alaska.
IRS Finally Recognizes That the First Amendment Permits Pastors To Speak From the Pulpit
Surely, in today’s America, the federal government can’t punish pastors for preaching from the pulpit about how to apply God’s Word to everyday life. And yet, for seventy years, the Internal Revenue Service did just that. It used a provision of the Internal Revenue Code called the Johnson Amendment—inserted in 1954 by then-Senator Lyndon B. Johnson to stymie his political opponents—to chill free speech in churches. The amendment uses nebulous la…
IRS says Utah’s faith leaders can endorse candidates from the pulpit. Will they?
We asked several Utah faith leaders if they would endorse a political candidate from the pulpit after the Internal Revenue Service said in a court filing this week that they could. Here's what they said.
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