By Noah Stanton | I Stand For Freedom
Every Sunday, millions of Americans go to church hoping to learn how to live better lives. For years, pastors have had to watch their words carefully. Say something about who to vote for, and the government might show up and take away the church’s special tax status. It’s like having a referee who can throw you out of the game for saying certain words.
This hidden muzzle on church leaders has been around since 1954. Americans can speak freely almost everywhere else. But in church, the IRS could punish certain kinds of talk. Many religious people wondered: How can we have true religious freedom if our pastors can’t speak freely about today’s big issues?
That question now has an answer. The Internal Revenue Service told a federal court on Monday that church leaders can talk about politics and even support candidates. Churches won’t lose their tax status for this speech anymore. This big win comes after President Donald Trump kept his 2016 campaign promise to stop the so-called Johnson Amendment from limiting religious speech.
From ‘The Blaze’:
“President Donald Trump, making good on a 2016 campaign promise, took action against the so-called Johnson Amendment in his first term, signing an executive order directing his Treasury Department to effectively halt its enforcement.
Faith is deeply embedded into the history of our country, the spirit of our founding, and the soul of our nation,” Trump said at the time. “We will not allow people of faith to be targeted, bullied, or silenced anymore.”