Equip your church to engage in elections with confidence. Download a free guide from Church Law & Tax to help you navigate politics while protecting your tax-exempt status.
Can churches get political?
The question burns hotter than ever as the heat of our political landscape continues to rise. The scars from election battles in 2020 and 2022 still show. As we head toward November, we not only face a contentious presidential race and numerous vitriolic congressional contests but also myriad controversial state ballot measures.
Some Christians want to see their churches take a stand for or against specific candidates or causes. Others believe that the church is no place for political engagement.
Many pastors feel caught in the middle, wondering if they are legally allowed to engage at all.
When I joined Church Law & Tax nearly 18 years ago, I didn’t think such a middle really existed. I assumed the US Constitution’s Establishment Clause prohibited churches from political participation and believed that getting involved would only jeopardize a church’s tax-exempt status.
Over time, I have learned that some of those assumptions were misguided. By understanding what the law allows—and considering what is beneficial—pastors and church leaders can discover meaningful opportunities to offer peace and perspective in volatile political seasons.
A Fuller Picture
Legally speaking, churches can get political. The Constitution’s Free Exercise and Free Speech clauses offer robust protections for pastors to speak and act as they feel called based on their theological convictions. Whether it’s endorsing a candidate for the White House or lobbying against a ballot measure to legalize marijuana, church leaders can respond as they feel led.
But we must make a vital distinction: while pastors cannot be criminally prosecuted for making political statements, or face civil liability, doing so still could jeopardize their church’s tax-exempt status.
The Internal Revenue Code lays out two requirements for nonprofits and churches. The first, based on the controversial 1954 adoption of the “Johnson Amendment,” says that tax-exempt entities cannot support or oppose political candidates, even to an insubstantial degree. The other says that churches can support or oppose ballot measures, or lobby for or against legislative matters—but only if these activities represent “no substantial part” of their overall operations, a term that has proven difficult to define.
Enforcement of these requirements has been sparing at best. Only a handful of violations have ever been openly pursued by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
On the other side of the spectrum, a group of religious broadcasters recently filed a lawsuit seeking to undo the Johnson Amendment altogether. Whether it advances through the courts remains to be seen.
Room to Advocate
Legal and tax implications leave pastors with a long list of questions.
Who should they support? What stands should they take? Are there any political activities worth risking their tax-exempt statuses for? Should the benefit of tax exemption influence their decisions at all?
As I consider these questions with pastors and church leaders across the country, I suggest they first examine how God is calling their churches to respond to the political moment. Some are resolute about the issues affecting their communities, or the country as a whole, and they believe they need to engage, as is their right.
The Bible has much to say in the areas of societal health and well-being—offering a moral compass that can provide direction when engaging cultural issues, and the Constitution protects a pastor’s right to speak on these issues. Church leaders can preach on care for the poor, testify before a legislative committee about the negative effects of drugs in the community, and advocate for change in education, health care, crime response, and more. Those actions won’t likely trigger IRS scrutiny unless the time, money, and resources expended become a substantial part of the church’s operations.
When it comes to political candidates, however, while constitutional protections remain, tax-exempt protections do not.
Even with relatively nonexistent IRS enforcement, pastors and church leaders should consider what a loss of exemption could mean for their congregation, including:
- The church’s net income becoming subject to federal and state taxation
- Loss of property tax exemptions and sales tax exemptions
- Changes in financial areas such as charitable contributions deductions for donors, retirement plans for staff members, and unemployment taxes
While the potential economic impacts of losing tax exemption are important, they are secondary to a greater problem: a church’s stand with one political candidate or another only invites division within the congregation itself.
For instance, political polling for the 2024 presidential race suggests a near-even split nationwide. A church’s decision to support Former President Trump or Vice President Harris inevitably will alienate a sizable portion of the congregation.
A spring survey by the National Association of Evangelicals reinforced these concerns, with 98 percent of pastors saying candidate endorsements should be avoided—largely because of the divisions they can cause.
A Force for Civic Good
While there is an opportunity to bring light on key political issues during this election season, churches and pastors also have an opportunity to shine in another important way: they can support our country’s democratic processes.
In this vein, pastors and churches are allowed to:
- Host a nonpartisan forum inviting all candidates for a particular local, state, or federal race
- Serve as a precinct location for elections
- Compile and distribute the voting records of congressional members and state legislature members on a wide range of major issues (without partisan commentary)
- Conduct nonpartisan voter registration drives
- Provide educational materials about a community issue, such as drug legalization, education reform, access to health care, or economic development, and then host educational meetings for the community on those issues
Can churches get political? Constitutionally speaking, yes.
Should churches get political? That’s a more nuanced question that each pastor and church must consider with prayer and wisdom.
As you lead your congregation through this political season, navigating these complexities is more important than ever before. That’s why Church Law & Tax designed a free guide to help you make wise, informed choices without risking your church’s mission or tax-exempt status. Download it today.
Matthew Branaugh is attorney and editor of Church Law & Tax, part of the Gloo family of brands.
Posted