Before 1954, pastors, priests and rabbis could openly endorse political parties or candidates.

Then came the Johnson Amendment, named for Lyndon Baines Johnson, then an U.S. Senator from Texas who tweaked the IRS code. Suddenly, tax-exempt nonprofits were barred from “participating or intervening in any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office.” The “opposition to” phrase was added in 1986.

A ruthless political strategist before and during his presidency, Johnson engineered this coup after two Texas nonprofit groups had supported his Senate primary opponent.… Continue Reading

Year two of the President Donald J. Trump presidency doesn’t technically begin until later this month, but a quick look back at 2017 and ahead to 2018 is in order.

First, 2017. Many of those who have been working in the political trenches for a long time welcomed Trump’s candidacy and presidency. Why? Because we had witnessed close-up how so many good conservative leaders were failing decade after decade to successfully advance conservative policies.… Continue Reading

A measure within the federal tax overhaul bill that would end the IRS regulation barring churches from endorsing political candidates has been removed from the proposed legislation.

The U.S. Senate’s parliamentarian struck out the language overturning the Johnson Amendment, with the Hill reporting last week that the reason was because it “did not meet Senate rules that require elements of the tax bill to have something to do with the budget.”

“The Senate is seeking to move a House-Senate conference report under special budgetary rules that prevent Democrats from using a filibuster,” explained The Hill.… Continue Reading

Written by Brandon Showalter

In a Feb. 10 Morning Consult/Politico poll, 47 percent of evangelicals said they support allowing religious groups to engage in political activity, whereas 34 percent do not. By contrast, 54 percent of Catholics and 69 percent of Jews oppose such participation by religious groups.

The survey also shows that 40 percent of evangelical voters believe that churches should be permitted to endorse political candidates, a higher figure than all other religious groups polled, while 41 percent said such endorsements should not be allowed.… Continue Reading