Please Join the Movement to Free America’s Pulpits

Written by John Biver

The Alliance Defending Freedom has been doing important work to free America’s pulpits from government censorship. The organization is now pushing Congress “to fix the unconstitutional Johnson Amendment through the Free Speech Fairness Act (FSFA)”:

The FSFA restores free speech to churches and other nonprofits by allowing them to freely speak on current cultural and political issues without jeopardizing their tax-exempt status.

How can you help? Congress needs to know that America’s pastors want this legislative fix. Encourage your pastor, pastor friends, and pastor allies to visit www.pulpitfreedom.org and sign the pastor coalition letter by October 1.

At the ADF Legal website, they expand on the case for support:

As a pastor, you should be free to teach as God leads, without interference from the government. But for more than 60 years, the IRS has used the Johnson Amendment to censor what you and other pastors preach from the pulpit.

Under the Johnson Amendment, your First Amendment rights have become bargaining chips to be exchanged for a tax status. Pastors who share truth on biblical issues – like the sanctity of life and marriage – could risk intrusive IRS audits, incur steep fines, and even jeopardize their church’s tax-exempt status.

It’s time to fix the Johnson Amendment. Right now, we have the opportunity to restore free speech to all nonprofits, including churches and their leaders, through the Free Speech Fairness Act (FSFA).

Please act fast — ADF is requesting signatures from supporters by October 1. “A scandal-filled government agency like the IRS,” ADF says, “simply cannot be trusted with our constitutionally protected rights to free speech and the free exercise of religion”:

The decision to discuss today’s most relevant political and theological issues should rest with the church, not the government. Your signature alongside those of faith leaders across the nation will bring unprecedented awareness to our leaders in Congress that this is a non-partisan, multi-faith, winning issue that they must make right.

You can read the ADF’s letter here.

For more on the topic at the Illinois Institute’s website, click here.

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