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Christianity Today, December, 2011

Politics

Pastors Double-Dare the IRS

Observers suggest that punishing church endorsements will be unlikely.

Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra | posted 12/12/2011 10:03AM

Comments (16)

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When Robert Jeffress, senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Dallas, endorsed presidential candidate Rick Perry on his church's website in October, Americans United for the Separation of Church and State promptly asked the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for an investigation.

Since passage of the Johnson Amendment in 1954, churches "may not participate in, or intervene in … any political campaign," according to the IRS.

Churches that don't comply could lose their tax-exempt status.

In theory. But it seems no one, not even Americans United, is expecting a quick response from the IRS.

"Right now the situation is in a holding pattern because the IRS has found its internal policies under fire by federal court ruling," said senior policy analyst Rob Boston.

A 1984 federal ruling told the IRS it needed a regional commissioner to sign off on any audits done on churches. But when the IRS reorganized in 1996, it eliminated the regional commissioner position. A Minnesota church recently argued that its IRS audit wasn't authorized by a high-enough official. In January, a federal court agreed.

Until the IRS sorts out who can authorize church audits, churches are left in limbo, said Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) senior legal counsel Erik Stanley.

"It has become an intolerable system of self-censorship," he said. "Society labels biblical issues as political, and pastors just back away."

Only one church has ever had its tax-exempt status revoked: a New York church that ran full-page newspaper ads warning voters away from Bill Clinton in 1992.

The IRS may be weak on enforcing the Johnson Amendment because of its questionable constitutionality, said Sally Wagenmaker, a tax attorney who works with nonprofits.

A constitutional challenge is the ADF's goal. It promotes an annual Pulpit Freedom Sunday that encourages pastors to preach on the moral qualifications of candidates. Participation has grown from 33 pastors in 2008 to 539 in 2011.

"The question for the church is: Is it part of what you feel God has called you to do, for such a time as this?" said Wagenmaker. "To push the envelope?"

About 85 percent of Protestant pastors believe the IRS should stay out of policing sermon content, according to an August survey by LifeWay Research. Yet a 2010 survey found that the same majority believe that pastors should not endorse candidates from the pulpit, said president Ed Stetzer.

"It would be a mistake," he said, "to draw the conclusion that because they don't want the IRS in the pulpit, they want politics in the pulpit."

Related Elsewhere:

Previous Christianity Today coverage of the issue of church endorsements includes:

To Protect Freedom, ADF Needs IRS to Punish Pastors | The ironies of "Pulpit Freedom Sunday." (October 5, 2011)

Tempted by Politics | Why many pastors want to, but shouldn't, endorse candidates. (October 2, 2008)

Endorsing from the Pulpit | Pastors launch challenge of IRS rules on endorsements. (September 25, 2008)

CT also covers political updates on its politics blog.

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Double-Daring the IRS, December 2011, Vol. 55, No. 12, Page 15

Comments (16)

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Displaying 1–5 of 16 comments

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Veritas

December 17, 2011 3:58pm

If a church wants to be politically active legally, then start paying taxes. Does the act of a Church of forcing their beliefs on others via political means make non-Christians more or less willing to want to become Christian?

Mike

December 14, 2011 11:17am

Willie, I agree with you in general about the need to keep the main focus of the church out of politics, but as a pastor, I feel the freedom to talk about pressing moral issues if necessary. Furthermore, if a particular candidate is promoting harmful and immoral policies or laws, I also feel the freedom to be able to talk about such issues from the pulpit or anywhere else. I don't think as a general policy this would be wise, but as America continues to stray from its Christian moral heritage, we may find more and more circumstances where it is necessary. For instance what if a candidate were to promote open racism or infanticide. Should I as a pastor have the right to speak against not just those positions, but also the candidate? If not, then why not?

E Harris

December 13, 2011 9:16pm

Freedom of speech: the guy at the pulpit has the freedom of speech. Freedom of assembly: if you don't like it, you are free to assemble elsewhere! Problem solved. Man up! It's the free market. Get the central bureaucrats out of our way. America isn't China and the "3-self church."

Willie

December 13, 2011 9:12pm

I don't think that a worship service is a proper setting for endorsements of specific political candidates. And I believe that if a church chooses to use it's resources like a PAC does & endorse particular candidates then it should lose its tax exempt status.The idea that some Christians have that religion & partisan politics are inseparable has always seemed strange to me.The gospels make it pretty clear that when Jesus was here on earth he considered political matters of that day & the earthly government in place in Israel at that time pretty insignificant & of no real lasting importance.That tells me a lot, and I think it's an example Christians should take to heart.Church services should be used to worship God & teach about His will for our lives.They aren't the proper setting to be giving partisan political speeches.I don't personally believe that God is either a Republican or a Democrat. And, in the eternal scheme of things winning the 2012 election is pretty small potatoes.

Richard Grelber

December 13, 2011 7:43pm

Meanwhile, Attorney General Holder insists that Florida must retain early voting on Sundays so that African-American preachers can fire up their congregations against evil Republicans and send them on ready-reserved rented buses straight to the polls. So which is it? Is electioneering from the pulpit bad? Or good? Or does it matter which party benefits? If one party can benefit and the other cannot, is this constitutional?

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