Ohio churches are having mixed reactions to news that the Internal Revenue Service is indicating it will relax enforcement of the 1954 Johnson Amendment, which prevents tax-exempt churches and other houses of worship from endorsing political candidates.
In a recent court filing, the IRS said the amendment is still in effect but stipulates the agency won’t enforce it when political endorsements are made through a religious lens.
Citizens for Christian Virtue President Aaron Baer is pleased, saying: "It is very good that the government is getting out of the pulpit, a place they had no jurisdiction—no right to be in—in the first place."
"The reality is that there has been only one enforcement action against a church since the Johnson Amendment was enacted,” Baer said. “The IRS has never gone after the churches because they know that this amendment is blatantly unconstitutional. You cannot tell a pastor what to say from the pulpit.”
The Executive Director of the Catholic Conference of Ohio, Brian Hickey, said don’t expect churches in his organization to start endorsing candidates because of the IRS change.
“We’re still not getting involved in it nor do we think it would be good practice or spiritually fruitful for Catholics,” Hickey said.
“At the same time, we still encourage our clergy members to speak out on issues of public policy that honor human dignity and advance the common good, principles found in our Catholic codes on moral doctrine,” Hickey said.
Ohio Jewish Communities President and CEO Howie Beigelman said, “Rabbis and other Jewish community leaders have long brought their religious values into the political arena” and spoken out on public policy.
“Even under the previous interpretation of the Johnson amendment, rabbis and others were allowed to endorse in a personal capacity where their organizational affiliation was for identification purposes. Many took advantage of that opportunity. Others just used their weekly pulpit as a space to discuss issues without explicitly endorsing a candidate or taking a partisan view,” Beigelman said. “Now, a few may decide to be more overt or to take political stands they were afraid to beforehand. But for most, it won’t change how they are engaging in the political process very much.”
The Ohio Council of Churches has not yet responded to requests for a comment on this story.
