IRS allows churches to endorse political candidates

The Internal Revenue Service has given churches and other houses of worship the green light to endorse political candidates.

In a court filing Monday first reported by the New York Times, the IRS said such endorsements would not violate the decades-old ban on political endorsements by churches known as the Johnson Amendment that dates back to 1954 and was named after then-Senator Lyndon Baines Johnson. 

"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," said the filing. "To 'participate' in a political campaign is 'to take part' in the political campaign, and to 'intervene' in a political campaign is 'to interfere with the outcome or course' of the political campaign. Bona fide communications internal to a house of worship, between the house of worship and its congregation, in connection with religious services, do neither of those things, any more than does a family discussion concerning candidates. Thus, 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 plaintiffs had initially sought an exception for all tax-exempt organizations, both religious and secular, but the filing instead was restricted to houses of worship. The IRS's recently confirmed commissioner, Billy Long, was named as a defendant in the case.

The decision to roll back the restriction was offered by the IRS as a settlement to a lawsuit filed last year by the National Religious Broadcasters Association and two Texas churches. 

"The decision by the IRS to allow churches to advocate to their congregations for and against candidates for the first time in more than seven decades is not about settling a lawsuit," said Craig Holman, government affairs lobbyist with Public Citizen, in a statement. "The courts have consistently upheld the law requiring churches to avoid politics in exchange for their tax-exempt status."