Churches and other non-profits can now endorse political candidates

[MisterBeale]

It's not on religious organizations only.

IIRC, the Johnson Amendment applied to 501(c)(3) tax exempt charitable organizations. So it included other organizations besides religious organizations.

WW

Of course.

The government has every right to regulate non-profits, just not religion.

 

[MisterBeale]

They’re choosing not to enforce it on churches and will enforce it on every other organization.

That's fine. Religions are specifically protected in the Constitution, other organizations are not.

 

[Marener]

That's fine. Religions are specifically protected in the Constitution, other organizations are not.

Protected from what, taxes?

No.

 

[MisterBeale]

Protected from what, taxes?

No.

Can taxes be used to promote or discourage behavior the government doesn't like?

 

[Fort Fun Indiana]

Didn't seem to work....Black churches in Norfolk, Virginia hold Saturday morning services then load-up on a church bus and go vote.

Good to see the playing field leveled.

Irrelevant.

 

[Marener]

Can taxes be used to promote or discourage behavior the government doesn't like?

Sure.

Does anyone have a constitutional right to not pay taxes?

 

[Papageorgio]

Charities. Universities. Anyone other then religious organizations.

Where do you see

Charities. Universities. Anyone other then religious organizations.

The churches last year sued that the Johnson Amendment violates the churches 1st Amendment rights of free speech. Which it seems like it does, but a court hasn’t ruled on it.

I believe they need to remove all churches and any other groups like PACs and the such from the non profit status.

 

[Marener]

Where do you see

The churches last year sued that the Johnson Amendment violates the churches 1st Amendment rights of free speech. Which it seems like it does, but a court hasn’t ruled on it.

I believe they need to remove all churches and any other groups like PACs and the such from the non profit status.

It’s hard to see how they could win their case. Taxes aren’t impinging on free speech.

No one is entitled to tax exempt status.

https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.txed.232590/gov.uscourts.txed.232590.35.0.pdf

 

[martybegan]

So you're admitting that you want DEI, gotcha.

And churches could simply decline being tax exempt if they wanted to endorse candidates.

Trump is clearly engaging in viewpoint discrimination.

Shouldn't Universities strive for ideological balance?

I am not admitting anything, you waste of O2.

 

[pknopp]

No church I know of is comparing Trump to Jesus, that's just idiotic leftist babble. Christians don't worship world leaders but they do believe God's will was responsible for them being elected, whether they're good leaders or bad.

So it was God's will that Biden defeated Trump?

 

[pknopp]

Remove tax exemptions from all religious institutions.

matters none. A simple meaningless slogan. Taxes are paid on profits. Church's have none.

 

[MisterBeale]

Sure.

Well, if you admit that taxes can be a prohibition on the free exercise of any behavior the government doesn't like then. . .

Does anyone have a constitutional right to not pay taxes?

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

. . . obviously yes, the church has a constitutional right to be free of state burdens.

 

[Marener]

Shouldn't Universities strive for ideological balance?

I am not admitting anything, you waste of O2.

Even if it means hiring less capable people?

 

[Marener]

Well, if you admit that taxes can be a prohibition on the free exercise of any behavior the government doesn't like then. . .



"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

. . . obviously yes, the church has a constitutional right to be free of state burdens.

Don’t I have a right to be free of state burdens too? I have a right to worship freely.

 

[Wild Bill Kelsoe]

Sub-saharan churches have been doing it for decades. Why not let everyone do it?

 

[MisterBeale]

Don’t I have a right to be free of state burdens too? I have a right to worship freely.

Sure, but I fail to see that that has to do with the government taxing the church you see fit to attend.

 

[martybegan]

Even if it means hiring less capable people?

The schools don't care about capability with the lefty ones. As long as they check the right boxes they get in.

 

[Papageorgio]

It’s hard to see how they could win their case. Taxes aren’t impinging on free speech.

No one is entitled to tax exempt status.

https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.txed.232590/gov.uscourts.txed.232590.35.0.pdf

I see how they are trying to make it become a free speech, but they have free speech, but they lose their tax exempt status, you can’t have it both ways, but that is what they are trying to. I feel the same way with universities and schools, if they are getting tax exempt status or tax dollars, they should all be a political.

 

[Marener]

Sure, but I fail to see that that has to do with the government taxing the church you see fit to attend.

Paying taxes doesn’t inhibit exercise of religion. If it did, it would be unconstitutional to tax anyone go had any religion.

 

[Meathead]

Earlier this month, the Internal Revenue Service reinterpreted the ban, known as the Johnson Amendment, saying for the first time that churches could endorse candidates from the pulpit. The change, which came via a legal settlement, functionally nullifies a core tenet of the law, giving Christian conservatives their most significant victory involving church political organizing in 70 years. Their ultimate goal is still to totally eliminate the law, through Congress or the Supreme Court, removing all its limits on their political activities.

“Now churches are free,” said Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council, which has been working to challenge the law for years. “The leash is gone.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/30/us/johnson-amendment-church-free-speech.html

Though the Johnson Rule has been in place for 70 years, we knew for instance where evangelicals, stood politically. They were just prohibited from saying so from the pulpit or advertising for a particular candidate.

The question is regardless of the repeal of the Johnson rule is it a good idea for Churches to start spouting politics from the pulpit and turning surmons into stump speeches for political candidates.

Will it turn off congregants? Will it just segregate people more as you seek churches that support your candidate?

What do you think?

You mean like NPR?