Move Would Turn Megachurches Into Super PACs
President Donald Trump will celebrate the National Day of Prayer on Thursday by signing an executive order expanding the ability of churches and other tax-exempt religious organizations to engage in partisan politics without fear of losing their tax-exempt status, The New York Times reports. Currently, the Johnson Amendment bans such groups from endorsing or campaigning against a political candidate, but allows them to advocate for or against policy issues, including same-sex marriage and a woman’s right to choose.
Trump was expected to sign another executive order using “religious freedom” as a cloak to allow anti-gay extremists to discriminate against LGBT people. The language in that order, based on a leaked draft from February, is severe and has been called a “license to discriminate.”
During the campaign Trump promised religious right leaders he would strike down the Johnson Amendment, which would require an act of Congress. As recently as February Trump promised conservative Christians he would “get rid of and totally destroy the Johnson Amendment.”
Just how far President Trump’s executive order extends is unknown. The Times said it is “unclear exactly how the executive order will get around the tax code provision,” noting “eliminating it would require legislation by Congress.” Citing “faith leaders who have had discussions with White House officials about the issue,” the Times reports they say the president “could direct the Internal Revenue Service not to actively investigate or pursue cases of political activism by members of the clergy.”
That would likely spark an immediate challenge by First Amendment and civil rights groups in court. It’s not clear that such a move would pass constitutional muster.
“He could say something like, ‘I’m instructing the I.R.S. to respect the rights of religious institutions to participate in the public square fully,’ †Notre Dame law professor Richard W. Garnett told the Times.
“That might be symbolic,†he said, or it might in effect instruct the I.R.S. to “carve as wide a berth as possible†and allow churches and other houses of worship to participate openly in campaigns for political candidates without any repercussions.
Trump will “celebrate” the day surrounded by members of Christian right groups and anti-LGBT hate groups.
Efforts to allow religious groups that are currently barred from endorsing candidates is a thinly-veiled attempt to expand Trump’s donor base. As NCRM has reported, if Trump’s move is successful, he will have also have succeeded in turning megachurches into Super PACs.
Reports estimate taxpayers annually have to make up the $80 billion tax-exempt churches and other religious non-profits do not contribute to the tax base.
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