In court filings Monday, the IRS has largely backed down on a decades-old rule that barred churches from engaging in political activity.

In a reversal of decades of legal precedent, the Internal Revenue Service said in court filings on July 7 that churches and other religious 501 c(3) organizations can endorse political candidates in certain circumstances.

The new position, which was made in a joint filing intended to end a lawsuit brought by a group of high-profile Christian organizations last year, carves out a narrow exception to the Johnson Amendment, which has banned political activity by churches since 1954.

The rule was introduced by former President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1954 when he was serving as the U.S. Senate Majority Leader. It banned all tax-exempt organizations like churches and charities from “directly or indirectly” participating in politics, specifically in endorsement or opposition of candidates.

  • runner_g@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
    11·
    4 days ago

    “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 agency stated in the filing.

    Basically preachers are allowed to tell their conversation who to vote for.