Churches Can Endorse Political Candidates to Their Members: IRS

The IRS on July 7 outlined an exception to a decades-old rule, the Johnson Amendment, which had banned tax-exempt religious organizations from campaigning for political candidates. In a court filing regarding a lawsuit against the government by two Texas churches and the National Religious Broadcasters Association, the federal agency said the ban would not apply to faith organizations when they are campaigning to their own members. The Christian groups sought reforms to nonprofit law that bans tax-exempt groups from political campaigning, arguing that the rule “unconstitutionally prohibits § 501(c)(3) [non-profit, tax-exempt] organizations from engaging in political speech.” When campaigning for his first presidential term, President Donald Trump told the “evangelical and religious community” he wanted to repeal the law that “threatens religious institutions with a loss of their tax-exempt status if they openly advocate their political views.”...