The House Republican tax cut bill would curtail the so-called Johnson Amendment—a 63 years old law that prohibits nonprofits, charitable organizations and places of worship from campaigning in order to support or criticize a certain candidate.
According to the change, the churches should not lose their tax-exempt status if they make political remarks about candidates during religious services, gatherings and activities, Newsweek reports.
President Donald Trump promised to eliminate the amendment during his campaign last year. Afterwards he promised to destroy the amendment and allow the representatives of faith to speak freely and without fear. During the summer House Republicans introduced a provision into a spending bill that would deny the IRS money to enforce the amendment, but some Democrats expressed their worries that churches may channel money to politicians. On the other hand, conservatives said that the amendment limits churches’ free speech, even though courts disagree.
There were some religious leaders who supported Trump’s pledge. Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr., who is a well known supporter of the president, said that the move would create a huge revolution for conservative Christians and for free speech. But, many opposed. More than four thousand religious leaders in the U.S. urged Congress not to upend the amendment.
“Changing the law to repeal or weaken the ‘Johnson Amendment’ would harm houses of worship, which are not identified or divided by partisan lines,” they wrote in their letter which got the support from leaders from different denominations, but not from evangelicals, who are a pretty big part of Trump’s base.
Without the Johnson Amendment, donors could give their money to churches, which could then give it to political candidates — making political donations effectively tax-exempt and bypassing the laws on campaign donation disclosures, The Washington Post informs.
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