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IRS Says Churches Can Endorse Political Candidates Without Losing Tax-Exempt Status

by Worthy News Washington D.C. Bureau Staff

(Worthy News) – In a landmark shift with far-reaching implications for the intersection of religion and politics, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has formally stated that churches and other houses of worship may endorse political candidates during religious services without jeopardizing their tax-exempt nonprofit status.

The announcement came as part of a consent judgment filed Monday in a Texas federal court, resolving a lawsuit brought by the National Religious Broadcasters Association, Intercessors for America, Sand Springs Church, and First Baptist Church Waskom. The plaintiffs challenged the long-standing Johnson Amendment, a 1954 provision of the U.S. tax code that prohibits 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organizations, including churches, from endorsing or opposing political candidates.

In a key excerpt from the joint court filing, the IRS acknowledged that when a religious organization “in good faith speaks to its congregation, through its customary channels of communication… concerning electoral politics viewed through the lens of religious faith,” it does not constitute prohibited political campaign activity. The agency further emphasized that interpreting the Johnson Amendment to censor such communication would create “serious tension with the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause.”

The move marks the first time the IRS has formally stated such speech from the pulpit is not only tolerated but explicitly legal. While the IRS has rarely enforced the Johnson Amendment against religious institutions — wary of infringing on constitutional freedoms — this court-backed clarification effectively codifies that reluctance into formal policy.

The lawsuit alleged the Johnson Amendment violated the plaintiffs’ First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and the free exercise of religion, as well as protections under the Fifth Amendment and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. The consent judgment calls for the IRS to cease enforcement of the Johnson Amendment against the plaintiffs and similarly situated religious organizations.

The legal development aligns with previous statements by President Donald Trump, who in 2017 issued an executive order directing the Treasury Department not to enforce the Johnson Amendment. “I will get rid of and totally destroy the Johnson Amendment,” Trump said at that year’s National Prayer Breakfast, arguing that religious leaders should be able to speak freely “without fear of retribution.”

Although the Johnson Amendment remains officially part of the tax code, this judicial interpretation could render it effectively moot for religious institutions. Earlier this year, Republican lawmakers introduced legislation to repeal the amendment altogether.

Representatives from both the IRS and the National Religious Broadcasters Association did not comment publicly on the consent judgment. However, legal analysts say the ruling represents a significant affirmation of religious liberty and could embolden pastors and faith leaders nationwide to address political matters directly from the pulpit without fear of government reprisal.

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