Senator Lyndon Johnson passed the Johnson Amendment in 1954 to keep nonprofits including churches out of politics.

 

How valuable would such an endorsement be? I think we’ll find out because I think endorsements will be offered or solicited, legally or illegally. Currently it’s not illegal for a political campaign to donate to a nonprofit. How many churches, synagogues, or mosques could use a new roof? Candidates will be appearing in person to accept endorsements with a campaign speech, too. State and local candidates will be seeking endorsements, not just federal candidates. I can also see strife within congregations over who should be or has been endorsed by their faith leaders. 

Another problem: it’s unclear whether the language proposed by the IRS about political speech reaching churchgoers over “customary channels of communication” includes people who watch religious services streamed online or on TV, rather than just those who attend services in person. You can be sure some churches will test that out and spread their political message as widely as possible. 

America’s system of government functions best when religion is protected from political interference and when politics is protected from religious interference. The founders wrote a secular Constitution to establish a secular government. The Johnson Amendment supports that goal.

The Secular Coalition is prioritizing this one. We sent a letter to the Secretary of the Treasury urging him to reverse this new legal position from the IRS. We worked with Congressmen Raskin and Huffman on a letter from the Congressional Freethought Caucus to the IRS commissioner, and on an op-ed by Raskin and Huffman. The Johnson Amendment has not been repealed from the United States Code so we don’t need to pass a bill to restore it, but a Congressional resolution in support is an option being discussed, and other ideas. I’ll let you know when you can help.