Written by Don Byrd
On October 7, a handful of pastors around the country will try to spark a lawsuit by challenging the IRS to investigate them for endorsing candidates for office from the pulpit. Pulpit Freedom Sunday is the name organizers have given to this yearly exercise. And while several dozen have endorsed candidates on that day in the past, it has yet to result in an IRS sanction. Writing for the New Republic, Amy Sullivan explains why the argument put forward by those who oppose the no-endorsement rule for tax exemption fail.
In order to believe that churches are being censored by the government, you have to accept that religious organizations have not only the right to engage in partisan speech and activities but also the right to be exempt from federal taxes and the right to accept donations that are tax-deductible. There simply is no constitutional right that covers the latter. The tax-exempt status for churches is a monetary benefit given to them by the government, as is the rule allowing individuals to deduct their contributions to religious organizations.
It’s quite simple. If a church wants to endorse a candidate and engage in campaign activities, there are absolutely no restrictions preventing it from doing so. But it must pay federal taxes, and its donors cannot deduct their contributions…. The churches involved in Pulpit Sunday want to have it both ways. They want to use tax-deductible donations to participate in campaigns, and no doubt there are plenty of political donors who would prefer to deduct their political contributions by sending them through religious organizations.
She’s exactly right. This is not a religous freedom issue, or a free speech issue. It’s a tax exemption rule that is quite reasonable and fair and applies equally to all 501(c)(3) organizations. It protects churches from becoming money laundering arms of political campaigns, and in the process it saves clergy from foolishly dividing its congregations along political lines. That part is just a bonus, but a helpful one. Polls consistently show Americans want their church leaders to refrain from involving the church in electoral politics. My advice? Just say no.
