IRS Restores Churches' Freedom to Endorse Candidates
The Internal Revenue Service announced Monday that churches can now endorse political candidates when speaking to their congregations, marking a significant shift in how the agency interprets the Johnson Amendment.
Change in Policy
The IRS made this in a court filing to settle a lawsuit filed by two Texas churches and the National Religious Broadcasters. The agency now views church endorsements to congregants as private matters, similar to "a family discussion concerning candidates".
This represents the first time the IRS has formally declared such statements to be explicitly legal, rather than merely tolerated. Previously, the agency had seemed,
"deeply leery of punishing religious leaders for political statements made during worship."
Restoring the Church's Historic Role
The Johnson Amendment has for 70 years restricted what churches could say about civil politics. Senator Lyndon Johnson, who would later become President, introduced this provision in 1954, creating a significant barrier between church and state politics.
The restriction contradicted centuries of American tradition, in which churches led moral and political conversations. Many colonial pastors preached during the Revolutionary War about the morals the country must follow, about liberty to abolitionists who declared slavery sinful, and on the territorial expansion of America westward. Churches have served as our society's moral conscience.
Limited but Significant Victory
This change doesn't eliminate all restrictions on the church's civil involvement; however, it does represent meaningful progress. Churches can now tell their congregations which candidates align with biblical principles without fearing IRS retaliation.
The ruling explicitly protects
"communications from a house of worship to its congregation in connection with religious services through its usual channels of communication on matters of faith".
Moving Forward
Idaho churches and those across the nation can now more freely fulfill their calling to speak eternal biblical truths on civil issues. This change helps restore the proper relationship between church and civic life that has defined American society since our founding.
The church's moral voice grows stronger when pastors can clearly connect Scripture to the ballot box.
Citations
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/07/us/politics/irs-churches-politics-endorse-candidates.html
Barton, D. (2003). The Role of Pastors and Christians in Civil Government (2nd ed.). Wall Builder Press.