From CNBC:
The IRS said in a new federal court filing that churches can endorse political candidates to their congregations without risking the loss of their tax-exempt status.
The move upends a 70-year-old interpretation of the U.S. tax code, whose Johnson Amendment has barred certain non-profit groups, including churches, from endorsing political candidates without putting their tax-exempt status in jeopardy.
President Donald Trump has long called for Johnson Amendment to be repealed.
“Communications from a house of worship to its congregation in connection with religious services through its usual channels of communication on matters of faith do not run afoul of the Johnson Amendment as properly interpreted,” the IRS said in the joint filing Monday with the National Religious Broadcasters group in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.
“When a house of worship in good faith speaks to its congregation, through its customary channels of communication on matters of faith in connection with religious services, concerning electoral politics viewed through the lens of religious faith, it neither ‘participate[s]” nor ‘intervene[s]’ in a ‘political campaign,’ within the ordinary meaning of those words,” the filing said.
The filing was part of a joint motion by the IRS, the National Religious Broadcasters, and two Texas churches, Sand Springs Church in Athens, and First Baptist Church Waksom, located in Waksom, to settle a lawsuit through a consent judgment.
For years, the I.R.S. has seemed deeply leery of punishing religious leaders for political statements made during worship. But experts said this was the first time that the agency had formally said such statements were not just tolerated but explicitly legal.
“It basically tells churches of all denominations and sects that you’re free to support candidates from the pulpit,” said Lloyd Hitoshi Mayer, a law professor at the University of Notre Dame who has studied regulation of political activity by churches. “It also says to all candidates and parties, ‘Hey, time to recruit some churches.’”
Ellen P. Aprill, a professor emeritus at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, said she believed that the I.R.S.’s decision would set off new debates about its limits. What if a church posts endorsements online? Communications meant for congregants could easily reach people unconnected to the church family.
“It’s not going to be limited to just their membership,” she said. “Even Las Vegas doesn’t stay in Las Vegas these days. Everybody has a web page.”
