President Trump issued an executive order on religious liberty. It allows churches and other religious and charitable organizations to carry out political action without worrying about losing their tax-exempt status. It also exempts religious groups from having to fund contraceptives under Obamacare.
But it does not provide what many religious groups were hoping for and what many secular groups feared: There is no exemption from anti-discrimination laws for those who object to LGBT issues on moral or religious grounds.
The executive order does not change the law. It just directs the IRS and the health care system to exercise “maximum enforcement discretion” in levying penalties.
A bill has been introduced in Congress to repeal the Johnson Amendment, which restricts tax-exempt non-profits, including churches, from endorsing candidates and carrying out overt political activity.
Some fear that eliminating the restriction could further politicize religion and turn churches into “dark money shops” for political candidates. And this religious liberty advocate says the order is “worse than useless.”
Is this the kind of religious liberty protection that is needed today?
From Noah Bierman, Trump signs order inviting more politics at church, but no ‘religious liberty’ clause involving LGBTQ debate – LA Times:
President Trump signed an executive order aimed at protecting politically active churches from losing their tax-free status.
The order, timed for Thursday’s National Day of Prayer, does not include the broad religious liberty provisions leaked in February that could have allowed businesses to discriminate based on sexual orientation and other moral objections.
The new order contains a more vague blanket statement that declares the administration is committed “to protect and vigorously promote religious liberty.”
The order is also designed to allow religious groups to avoid a mandate to provide contraception coverage under President Obama’s healthcare law, the Affordable Care Act, potentially expanding an exemption that had been carved out in the courts. A senior administration official who briefed reporters Wednesday night would not describe how that provision would work, saying only that unspecified “regulatory relief” would come later.
The official emphasized that the order would not change existing law. The most significant portion of the order would direct the Internal Revenue Service to “exercise maximum enforcement discretion” in enforcing the Johnson amendment, which restricts religious groups from endorsing political candidates without risking their tax-exempt status.
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Illustration: “Religious Freedom” photograph by Mr. Gray, Flickr, Public Domain
President Trump issued an executive order on religious liberty. It allows churches and other religious and charitable organizations to carry out political action without worrying about losing their tax-exempt status. It also exempts religious groups from having to fund contraceptives under Obamacare.
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