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.
Possible good side effect is churches visibly promoting candidates you dislike so you can actively avoid them. I’m not a church guy at all but having it be obvious which ones are the true cranks and which ones are more middle of the road, or the rare lefty churches seems like a silver lining here.
I don’t think this will change much internally, churches are heavily political and the no endorsing candidates law was seldom, if ever, enforced.