Written by Don Byrd
The IRS maintains essentially the same rule for churches and religious organizations that it does for all 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations: To maintain tax-exempt status, such organizations must refrain from engaging in political campaigning for or against candidates. A commission created by Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA), however, is urging the government to remove that restriction for churches and religious organizations on the argument that a ban on politics in the pulpit violates the First Amendment’s guarantee of religious freedom.
USAToday reports:
Grassley had set up the commission after a series of hearings into how the IRS regulates churches and other charities. He is currently reviewing the proposal, said a spokeswoman for his office.
Michael Batts, chairman of the commission, said the current rules are not enforceable. There’s too much ambiguity, he said, and many pastors ignore them without consequence.
“We believe that there are some serious dysfunctions and problems associated with the current law,” he said.
If we got rid of every law suffering from enforcement dysfunctions, I’m not sure how many would be left standing. The ban on tax-exempt politicking makes sense on a number of levels. So too does the IRS’ careful enforcement strategies that emphasize education over punishment, though the rise in open flaunting of the law may force a reconsideration of that approach. Pulpit endorsements would jeopardize congregational health and undermine campaign finance regulations, not to mention the spirit of church-state separation.
Revisit the enforcement mechanism of such IRS regulations? Perhaps. But removing the rule altogether would be a bad move for the church and for the state.
