SIGN NOW: Common Cause is taking legal action to STOP Trump from turning churches into dark money campaign machines. Add your name to co-sign our legal efforts >>
John, what the Religious Right is doing should terrify anyone who cares about democracy.
Trump is blatantly ignoring the law to give his friends at far-right churches a special carveout to become political campaign machines. [1] This could open the door to a dangerous new wave of dark, secret money in our elections.
For years, far-right churches have openly violated the Johnson Amendment – a law meant to block all nonprofits, including churches, from endorsing or opposing candidates. [2]
Instead of enforcing the law, Trump’s DOJ and IRS are working directly with these churches to break it – letting them funnel millions of dollars to campaign for extremist candidates without oversight or accountability.
And beyond our very real concerns about unlimited money in politics, Trump or future presidents could use the precedent he’s setting here to quietly wipe out any laws they don’t like.
But here’s the good news, we’re fighting back – we just went to court to block a deal Trump made with these groups that’d endanger not only these common-sense safeguards against Big Money, but the separation of church and state itself. [3]
Common Cause is fighting back in court to shut down this lawless dark money scheme. Will you add your name to co-sign our legal action?
Congress passed the Johnson Amendment in 1954 to make sure any tax-exempt nonprofits – including churches – don’t become tools for partisan politics. It’s a critical safeguard to keep nonprofits focused on service, not elections.
But as the religious right has gained power, they’ve blurred that line. They’re using their legal protections – meant to protect people’s right to worship – to lobby against marriage equality, our right to choose, and teaching science in schools, all while keeping their tax-free status.
If they get their way, it would mean anonymous donors could funnel tax-deductible donations through churches to help candidates – further dismantling the public’s trust in religious and political institutions.
Not because members of Congress debated or repealed the Johnson Amendment, not because a judge ruled it unconstitutional, but because Trump’s team buried it in a backroom court settlement – handing churches a political loophole no other nonprofit gets.
They thought they could hide this shady power grab – but that’s not how our democracy works. We’re shining a light on this scheme and taking action to stop it.
Add your name to help us stop this scheme, protect the rule of law, and defend our democracy from this dangerous attack >>
Thanks for all you do,
The team at Common Cause
[1] https://www.nytimes.com/video/us/politics/100000010298662/how-churches-may-be-able-to-endorse-political-candidates.html
[2] https://www.publicnotice.co/p/johnson-amendment-trump-churches-free-speech
[3] https://www.commoncause.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/2025.07.31-51-1-Proposed-Amici-Curiae-Brief.pdf
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