In 1954, President Lyndon Baines Johnson pushed through a law that would revoke the tax-exempt status of churches and other non-profit organizations if they get involved with politics. President Donald Trump wants to get rid of that law.
What do you think? Granted that an overtly political focus can make a church this-worldly instead of attending to the Kingdom of Heaven. But shouldn’t churches have the right to teach whatever they please as a matter of religious liberty? And doesn’t political speech deserve special protection from the Constitution? But can you foresee problems if the Johnson amendment were to be thrown out (such as churches being used to launder political contributions)?
Photo of Lyndon Baines Johnson by Arnold Newman, White House Press Office (WHPO) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
From David Harsanyi, Yes, Churches Should Be Free To Express Themselves Politically, The Federalist:
While many journalists were getting worked up over a quip about Arnold Schwarzenegger’s poor ratings on “The Apprentice,” Donald Trump said something far more consequential at the National Prayer Breakfast. “I will get rid of and totally destroy the Johnson Amendment and allow our representatives of faith to speak freely and without fear of retribution,” he promised.
Fantastic. The Johnson Amendment — a law forbidding religious organizations from engaging in political activities without losing their tax-exemption status — is an inexplicable attack on free expression; an illiberal hat-trick undermining the Free Speech Clause, Free Exercise Clause, and Establishment Clause. It was created specifically to inhibit debate by forcing churches to choose between free expression and faith.
In 1954, Sen. Lyndon Johnson, worried about opposition at home, came up with an amendment to the Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3) that prohibited campaign speech by nonprofits and tax-exempt churches. There was no floor debate on the law, and one assumes, those voting for it saw little downside in quashing church criticism in their own states.
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In 1954, President Lyndon Baines Johnson pushed through a law that would revoke the tax-exempt status of churches and other non-profit organizations if they get involved with politics. President Donald Trump wants to get rid of that law.
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