Secular Group Asks IRS to Revoke Tax-Exempt Status of Billy Graham Evangelical Association for “Political Campaigning”
by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) – The US Freedom From Religion Foundation, which advocates for the separation of church and state, has reported the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association to the Internal Revenue Service for “illegal political campaigning.”
The BGEA has 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status which means that, under the Internal Revenue Code, it cannot “participate in, or intervene in (including the publishing or distributing of statements), any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office.”
Addressing its concerns in a letter dated September 20, 2024, the FFRF calls on the Internal Revenue Service to revoke the tax-exempt status of the Billy Graham Association on the grounds that it promoted Republican candidate Donald Trump for president over Democratic candidate Kamala Harris in a special 2024 election issue of its Decision magazine.
“In an opening letter, Franklin Graham [son of Billy Graham and CEO of BGEA] denigrates the Democratic party’s platform: Progressive, liberal thought and activism have so contaminated the mainstream of American life and culture that once-unthinkable abominations such as same-sex marriage, abortion on demand and transgender advocacy have become dogma in one major party’s platform,” the FFRF asserts in its September 20 letter to the IRS.
“He then tells readers to “vote for candidates who best align with and stand for Biblical principles,”” the FFRF letter continues. “This is followed by a cherry-picked comparison between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump intended to encourage readers to vote for Donald Trump over Kamala Harris.”
The FFRF concludes by calling on the Internal Revenue Service to investigate BGEA’s “intervention in the election” and “ensure that the Association no longer receives the benefits of 501(c)(3) status.”
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