২০ আগস্ট, ২০২৫

"It’s never been about whether or not I’m going to lose my tax-exempt status. It’s whether I’m going to lose my prophetic status."

"Let’s not be wussy about this. When we see sin, then name it. But I think it limits me, if somebody believes that I am tied to a candidate or political party."

So said Bonnie A. Perry, an Episcopal Bishop, quoted in a NYT article that's mostly about a Lutheran pastor,  Jonathan Barker, who resigned from Grace Lutheran (in Kenosha, Wisconsin) rather than give up on his plan to deliver a sermon about Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, endorsing her as a Democratic Party candidate for President in the 2028 election.

The article is "He Tried to Endorse From the Pulpit. He Wound Up Without a Church. The I.R.S. says churches can now support candidates during services, but many denominations still forbid it. A Wisconsin pastor learned the hard way."

So is this about religion or tax exemptions? Bishop Perry refers to "my tax-exempt status," but it's about the ability of all the donors to her church to claim a tax exemption.

It used to be clear that endorsing a political candidate would disqualify a church from its tax-exempt status, but there was a lawsuit challenging that and the Trump administration settled the lawsuit and said that churches could endorse candidates "to their own congregations, in connection with a worship service."

That doesn't mean they should. They may, like Perry, wisely refrain from losing their clout, their fervor, their credibility. Who would go to church to be harangued about voting for the latest Democrat? And then on top of that, you have to worry that you might lose their tax deduction if your church strays beyond the limited concession made in settling that lawsuit.

The churches have good reason to maintain a wall of separation between "the garden of the church" and "the wilderness of the world," even if there's a loophole in the tax law.

৮৮টি মন্তব্য:

rehajm বলেছেন...

Somewhere there’s a Hawaiian judge at the ready to compel worship leaders to endorse Democrats…

Aggie বলেছেন...

Who goes to church more: Democrats or Republicans? We'll find out when preachers start talking about elections, then by golly, it'll be a bad, no-good, absolutely horrible, worst thing ever ! Trump is already ahead of them.

Aggie বলেছেন...

News flash: Lutheran pastor finishes sermon, steps on rake leaving pulpit.

Peachy বলেছেন...

Wise pastors stay out of politics.
Congregations are mixed.

Democrats demand politics be injected into everything.
They see themselves as self-righteous. They are blind to the left's corruption and lies.

The Vault Dweller বলেছেন...

"It used to be clear that endorsing a political candidate would disqualify a church from its tax-exempt status,"

I think in practice there have always been a lot of tacit endorsements of politicians and parties particularly in the Black churches. But also in other denominations as well, how is the typical Catholic supposed to interpret a Bishop excommunicating Nancy Pelosi?

Bart Hall (Kansas, USA) বলেছেন...

Poster child for why the Episcopal church has collapsed into near-irrelevancy in the last two generations, beginning with Bp. Pike in New York.

Fifty years ago there were some 3 million people worshiping each Sunday as Episcopalians in the US, and an equal number of Anglicans in Uganda.

These days Episcopalians have lost the Christian plot and have perhaps 300,000 in church on Sunday. Meanwhile in Uganda it's about 12 million.

Leadership of Christianity passed first from the Mediterranean to Europe. In our lifetimes it has passed to the Global South, a shift of historical import.

Wince বলেছেন...

You can’t make your point from the pulpit without endorsing a candidate by name? That’s just poor rhetorical skill.

G. Poulin বলেছেন...

These alleged Christian pastors are each vying to be the biggest streetwalker in the Democratic Party's stable of hookers.

BarrySanders20 বলেছেন...

Many D's have a religious fervor about their political beliefs. The whackos with 58 bumper stickers, for example. Many reject religion and have a need to fill that void with politics. The politically active lefty pastors are a different story altogether. Craziest of the bunch in my observation.

Paddy O বলেছেন...

I dont think it is a good practice to endorse a candidate but I dont mind if a pastor does it. Tells me a huge amount about them and their priorities and who they actually see as lord and what they see as the kingdom of that lord. Tells me quickly not to bother with that church, no matter which political side they choose. Jesus had disciples with very different politics and he himself avoided partisanship. He was always direct action within specific contexts amd about transforming the people around him amd with him.

The Vault Dweller বলেছেন...

"Leadership of Christianity passed first from the Mediterranean to Europe. In our lifetimes it has passed to the Global South, a shift of historical import."

There were a lot of Catholics in the West that hoped that Robert Sarah, an African Cardinal, would have become Pope.

sharecropper বলেছেন...

I have been in ministry for more than 50 years. I have never endorsed a candidate or a party, but always felt free to identify Biblical issues. A pastor's judgment about a candidate is no better than any of his congregants' judgement about a candidate.

Inga বলেছেন...

“Some conservative churches, urged on by Mr. Trump, interpreted the statement as a green light to plunge into political activism. An arm of the Southern Baptist Convention said the I.R.S. statement would allow “religious leaders to minister more effectively to their congregations.” The Family Research Council, an advocacy group that promotes conservative values, is already trying to organize 18,000 pastors for next year’s midterm elections.”

Wince বলেছেন...

Everyone wants to be an influencer, not a theologian.

Bob Boyd বলেছেন...

"It's just a matter of getting the messaging right. How hard can it be?" - Jonathon "Carnival" Barker , Ex-pastor.

Mike (MJB Wolf) বলেছেন...

Who goes to church more: Democrats or Republicans?

Maybe someone polls that way but IDK. The standard results are that conservatives have higher rates of church attendance, charitable giving, and report personal happiness higher than the other end of the political spectrum. Leftists will vote to spend public money but rarely contribute their income to charities, attend church less frequently and report levels of personal despair and psychological problems at far higher rates than conservatives.

CJinPA বলেছেন...

sharecropper said...
A pastor's judgment about a candidate is no better than any of his congregants' judgement about a candidate.

Thank you. That's really all that needs to be said about spouting politics at church. You're not qualified nor authorized.

We've had this imposed on us once. A captive audience forced to hear personal opinions of the politics of the day, when all they want is to hear messages that are thoughtful and timeless.

IamDevo বলেছেন...

Seems to me that, despite the threat of losing tax-exempt status under the Johnson Amendment, no church endorsing a democrat has been so punished. Come to think of it, it's always only threatened against churches who endorse non-democrats. There are organizations whose existence is premised on enforcing "separation of church and state" by which they mean to push any mention of Christianity out of the public sphere, but none, as far as I know that expressly exist to make Christianity the state-compelled religion.

Peachy বলেছেন...

care to attribute your quote - Inga?

Vance বলেছেন...

I recall the very first thing the current mayor of Salt Lake City, Utah, a Democrat did when she won election. Salt Lake is, very sadly, essentially San Francisco in the Rockies now. It's also the headquarters of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which founded the city and still puts in billions of dollars into the city because they don't want their headquarters to look like Detroit.

Her first action was to go to the Church leaders and demand they change church doctrine to ordain lesbian ministers and put them in charge of the faith.

Odd, how none of the local Democrats screamed about "wall of separation between church and state!" while the elected official was making demands on a church to change their doctrine.

I wonder why Democrats approved of that, considering the hissy fit they threw when one of the said church leaders gave a talk discussing how abortion is a moral sin. "That's a violation! Politics! Tax them! REEEEE" they screamed. But a government official trying to just up and demand a religion change their doctrine to push leftist morality? Not a peep from the left.

The Church just (I assume) explained the facts of life to the mayor and how they didn't have to keep spending a billion a year in her city and she would be the one to destroy the economic heart of the city.... and she backed off.

AndrewV বলেছেন...

A Lutheran pastor endorsing Bolshevik Barbie for President would have been right at home with a congregation in East Germany.

robother বলেছেন...

The Democrat Party, certainly its Woke faction (which seems to occupy the leading role in the Party), is best viewed as a cult. A cult trying to become a religion. It is using the husk of mainstream American Protestant Churches and sympathetic elements of the American Catholic Church as one of the vehicles to spread the word: DEI, Woke, Green, Open Borders. Let's face it: to the good bishop and most Protestant ministers and a fair number of Catholic priests and bishops, traditional Christian beliefs in God, the soul and an afterlife derived from the Old and New Testaments are an embarrassment. At best, a gateway to bring the naive around to the true materialist, Progressive worldview.

Inga বলেছেন...

“care to attribute your quote - Inga?”

It’s in the article Althouse posted.

Dave Begley বলেছেন...

In my entire life as a Catholic, I have never once heard a priest (including the Jesuits) endorse a political candidate from the pulpit.

This WI guy has bad judgment.

Dave Begley বলেছেন...

Wuss = weasel and pussy

planetgeo বলেছেন...

Inga, I'm glad to see you pushing back against political activism in churches. Do you have any quotes handy for pushing back against the black churches who routinely invite prominent Democrat candidates like Hillary to come and practice their ghettospeak when they deliver their apostolic sermons ("Ah ain't no ways taard...")?

Mike (MJB Wolf) বলেছেন...

Seems to me that, despite the threat of losing tax-exempt status under the Johnson Amendment, no church endorsing a democrat has been so punished. Come to think of it, it's always only threatened against churches who endorse non-democrats.

Yes this and the rest Devo wrote is 100% correct.

Lazarus বলেছেন...

The "prophetic" may sound good and noble in divinity schools. By the time it reaches the real world, there's not much of it left. It's just more posturing and politicking.

That's understandable. Isaiah and Jeremiah didn't have a party or a foundation. If they had such things, they might have been more effective, but also more compromised.

Is there any ambivalence about "the prophetic"? The prophets had a strong sense of "social justice," but also a real ferocity against people who thought differently.

Iman বলেছেন...

Given the low take rate of the left for religion, ethics, or morality, much less common sense, perhaps this isn’t a big issue.

Aggie বলেছেন...

I see there are those here who read the story about flagrant political proselytizing by Democrats and immediately think it's a horrible idea if Republicans start to organize to do it better. But: Nothing critical to say about the Democrats who started it. Personally, I could never take spiritual guidance from a preacher so conceited, they think political instruction is more important.

Vance বলেছেন...

I particularly like how the left reveres (heh) the Reverend Martin Luther King. If you disagree with what King said as claimed by the left (and only their interpretation... his actual words are irrelevant and how dare you cite them or other inconvenient facts like he was a Republican, bigot!), you must be immoral! The left's view of Dr. King is the abolute moral authority!

So you have to bow to The Reverend King.... but when Romney ran it was the end of morality since Romney was a local leader in his church.

Carter? We have to praise him for his Christianity as view by the left! Romney? Bush? If they are Republicans, we cannot even whisper of their faith.

Remember Romney? People like Inga savaged him. "He has binders of women! He tied a dog to his car! He gave a kid a haircut! He's worse than Hitler! It's the worst possible moral choice! REEEEEE!"

If Mitt Romney was worse than Hitler... well, that's how you got Trump, isn't it. Republicans tried the most saintly, milquetoast, personally great guy I think the Republicans ever ran and how was he treated by the left?

So now we have Trump. Because if all Republicans are evil amoral barbarians, then by golly that's what we are going to get: someone to go after his foes and enjoy listening to the lamentations of their women.

The Vault Dweller বলেছেন...

"The "prophetic" may sound good and noble in divinity schools. By the time it reaches the real world, there's not much of it left. It's just more posturing and politicking."

I was surprised that a Christian pastor would use the term prophetic to describe themself. I thought it was pretty widely accepted Christian doctrine that there were no new prophets after Christ.

Ampersand বলেছেন...

Priests and ministers who tell me their political views give me a window into the worth of their spiritual insights. Talk away, Reverend.

Paddy O বলেছেন...

"I thought it was pretty widely accepted Christian doctrine that there were no new prophets after Christ."

That's not Christian doctrine. We have passages in the NT that talk about the gift of prophesy and prophets https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Corinthians%2012%3A27-29&version=NIV

But that gift is oriented towards the revelation of Christ and the Holy Spirit. There are also a lot of teachings about false prophets. Not everyone who says they are a prophet really is a prophet in a Christian sense. Lots of people throughout history have caled themselves a prophet but are not speaking truth or wisdom

Inga বলেছেন...

“I was surprised that a Christian pastor would use the term prophetic to describe themself. I thought it was pretty widely accepted Christian doctrine that there were no new prophets after Christ.”

I too was surprised to hear a Christian pastor call themselves a prophet. I thought they were more like shepherds.

Wilbur বলেছেন...

My lifelong friend, an elder in his Lutheran Church for decades, has told me there are two Lutheran denominations, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the Missouri Synod. He says the ELCA is Leftist in outlook and approach and, unsurprisingly, is hemorrhaging members in recent years.

Another HS classmate became an ELCA pastor and cannot muster enough members to even have a church. I've heard a couple of his "sermons" on YouTube and he makes AOC sound like Barry Goldwater.

Humperdink বলেছেন...

Some pastors preach from the newspapers, some use the Bible as the source of their message. Our evangelical pastor outlines the issues from a scriptural perspective. It’s no mystery as to who to vote for. Candidates names need not be identified.

Peachy বলেছেন...

oh -got. I rarely click the NYT links because I am not a paying member.

Inga বলেছেন...

“My lifelong friend, an elder in his Lutheran Church for decades, has told me there are two Lutheran denominations, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the Missouri Synod.”

There is also the WELS. Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran synod, which broke away from the Missouri Synod.

Wilbur বলেছেন...

Yes Inga, now that you mention it, I believe he is a WELS minister. He lives in or near Milwaukee.

stlcdr বলেছেন...

If you are preaching about Good and Evil, you can't not mention politics and politicians since it and they have injected themselves into every part of our lives.

Mike (MJB Wolf) বলেছেন...

I thought it was pretty widely accepted Christian doctrine that there were no new prophets after Christ.

I never understood why any church would teach that there are no more miracles (signs and wonders) or prophets. I always thought the tiny non-denominational church I grew up showed arrogance in saying such things. "Whaddaya mean God doesn't do those things anymore? How do you know?" We would read about the old testament prophets using stars and other natural phenomena to discern God's messages but modern astrology was "satanic."

I've found that the smaller and less formal the group I worship with, the more the act seems closer to what the 1st century churches were doing. Any organization becomes a bureaucracy and churches are not exempt from that tendency. The more added clauses ("our doctrine") the worse the main message gets.

The Vault Dweller বলেছেন...

"I never understood why any church would teach that there are no more miracles (signs and wonders) or prophets."

I think the distinction is that prophets receive revelation from God for the public, but that God still can and does give personal revelation today. Also I think most Christians believe God still performs miracles. Canonization in the Catholic Church requires two or more miracles attributed to that person's intercession.

Humperdink বলেছেন...

Acts 2, New Testament:

“And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.”

Lem Vibe Bandit বলেছেন...

“…societies such as Denmark and England maintain the constitutional recognition of an official state church”

They converted to Islam?

AI overview: “To convert to Islam, one must recite the Shahada, the declaration of faith, with sincerity, stating "There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is his messenger".”

Beaver7216 বলেছেন...

Raised as a Unitarian. Their magazine had an article in 2008 discussing whether Obama was a Unitarian. His mother seemed to be. I liked a lot about the church but it hit me that they talked about Us and Them and I felt like a Them. So much for their 7 Principles.

Fred Drinkwater বলেছেন...

Vance, I have taken to telling distraught or angry leftist friends that Trump is now the "best case scenario". Because where did they think their no-limits theology was going to go, and what the reaction might look like then?

Quaestor বলেছেন...

Just how does Bishop Bonnie see herself as prophetic? Is there any place where fewer Christian texts are quoted than in an Episcopal sanctuary? (My text for today is from "Heather Has Two Mommies", the Third Chapter, Verse Four...)

Is there a position more redundant than an Episcopal bishopric? How about the social director aboard Charon's ferry?

chuck বলেছেন...

Caesar (rubbing hands together): "It's mine, all mine."

Maynard বলেছেন...

My lifelong friend, an elder in his Lutheran Church for decades, has told me there are two Lutheran denominations, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the Missouri Synod. He says the ELCA is Leftist in outlook and approach and, unsurprisingly, is hemorrhaging members in recent years.

I grew up in the LCA (now ELCA) church. I never heard politics being discussed in the past. I have probably attended 1-2 ELCA services per year for the past 50 years and still have not heard politics being discussed.

That said, some of the relatively young pastors I know are very definitely on the left. That seems especially true of female pastors.

wildswan বলেছেন...

Remember that when the Pharisees wanted Christ to oppose the Roman Empire in his capacity as a religious leader, his response was: "Render to Caesar that which is Caesar's and to God that which is God's." Christian pastors are not entitled to hijack the pulpit to express their limited, often looney, political vision. Isn't there plenty to do in showing a Christian congregation how to pray and live a moral life in a blatantly secular era which is, in any case, rotting away?

PS. Anyhow, I think a member of the congregation can get up and give a little pulpit talk on what interests them every time a pastor decides to give a secular talk on politics.

RCOCEAN II বলেছেন...

"Let’s not be wussy about this. When we see sin, then name it. But I think it limits me, if somebody believes that I am tied to a candidate or political party."

Well, that's the Espicopalian point of view. What's the Christian one?

RCOCEAN II বলেছেন...

Yeah, lets vote for Harris. She'not religious. She'll bring back Roe v. Wade, and flood the USA with non-christians. And get the USA into war. And she's a super-zionist. You can't get more Christian than that.

EAB বলেছেন...

Yeah, he’s ELCA. It’s more surprising that the denomination would prohibit such endorsements.

Biotrekker বলেছেন...

"He had spent the last nine years as pastor of Grace Lutheran, a congregation that had shrunk from 1,500 attendees in the 1950s to 20 or 30 people on most Sundays. The congregation had already been considering closing for good."

Image

Yancey Ward বলেছেন...

Let's be clear- leftist pastors have mastered the art of endorsing political candidates without making it explicit. Trump's DoJ/Treasury just leveled the playing field.

FormerLawClerk বলেছেন...

NO LAW.

Churches should tell the government to go fuck itself, but they're too churchy to say that, so I will: Go fuck yourself.

The government settled because it knew it would lose and wants to maintain the THREAT of cancellation of free speech.

Fuck Trump, or any Democrat, who does this.

Christy বলেছেন...

I don't know about any recent plans from the Southern Baptist Convention, but I do know that Southern Baptist preachers have, my entire life, spoken in strong support of the State of Israel. This is why I have always been confused by Jewish friends hostile towards Christianity.

Ray Fowler বলেছেন...

Regarding the "prophetic" comment: Many ministers use the term prophetic not in the sense of being an actual prophet of God such as we find in the Bible, but in the more general sense of speaking truth into the culture. (Disclosure: I'm a pastor coming up on nearly 40 years in the ministry.)

hombre বলেছেন...

“Churches” can’t endorse anyone. Pastors can endorse candidates, but should not. If their message does not define biblical standards by which candidates can be evaluated they should find a new calling. Pastors at so-called “liberal churches” have no biblical standards so they will always go for Democrats. Their churches, like universities, are political enclaves and ought not to be tax exempt.

chris বলেছেন...

I attend Catholic church with my 92yo father, and then a sort of ELCA Lutheran church where my wife is the music minister. I've noticed lately, that leftist pet causes have made their way into the prayers for the faithful in the Catholic church. I know for a fact, that the ELCA sends out very specific prayers, but our church edits out all the lefty pet causes and keeps the service as neutral as possible focusing on Christ, and faith first. It's a very mixed congregation, but everyone shares faith in Christ and it's a very tight congregation. The ELCA has really started to go off the deep end. Sending over lesbian pasters and pushing hard on lefty causes, but our senior paster has been very good and pushing all of that off, and keeping the congregation focused on the Bible a faith in Christ. If I was at any church that pushed a specific political party, even one that I supported, I would leave.

hombre বলেছেন...

Igna at 8:51 likely quoting some leftmedia source believing it to be The Gospel. Therein lies the danger.

Bart Hall (Kansas, USA) বলেছেন...

@Vault Dweller who wrote "There were a lot of Catholics in the West that hoped that Robert Sarah, an African Cardinal, would have become Pope."

Pope Leo is rightly called an American, yet he's also a Peruvian citizen. I worked regularly, for years, in the same Trujillo--Cajamarca region to which he dedicated himself for so long.

He lived his faith practically in Peru, and played a significant role in lifting that country out of the horrors of the Sendero Luminoso years.

He's a fine choice for Bishop of Rome, and my Anglican friends in Kenya and Uganda are all pleased with the choice.

Inga বলেছেন...

“Igna at 8:51 likely quoting some leftmedia source believing it to be The Gospel. Therein lies the danger.”

I’m quoting from the same source Althouse quoted from. Also, I grew up in an evangelical church, Assemblies of God, attended church Sunday mornings and evenings, occasional Wednesday evenings, and Friday evening youth group for 18 years. I belonged to the WELS for 10 years. So, to suggest that a person on the left only knows about God and religion from “some left media source” is ignorant and un Christian.

gilbar বলেছেন...

just in case anyone was wondering..
Grace Lutheran Church is ELCA
(Evangelical Lutheran Church in America )
the mainstream progressive LGBTQI2S+ branch of Lutherans

and they STILL wouldn't let AOC be advertised from their pulpit

James K বলেছেন...

A good reason for a pastor to refrain from political endorsements is that it will piss off at least a minority of his congregants--not only those who disagree, but those who think it's inappropriate, even if allowed by the IRS.

gilbar বলেছেন...

someone accused igna of spouting leftwing nonsense..
and her response was: "Our Source, was the New York Times!"

Inga বলেছেন...

“someone accused igna of spouting leftwing nonsense..
and her response was: "Our Source, was the New York Times!"”

Not true Gilbar, perhaps you missed his point, which was that Non Trumpists or people on the left have faith in news publications above faith in God and consider it Gospel. That’s a pretty arrogant thing to say.

n.n বলেছেন...

Teach, don't dictate.

Rick67 বলেছেন...
এই মন্তব্যটি লেখক দ্বারা সরানো হয়েছে।
Rick67 বলেছেন...

I served an increasingly liberal church from 1999-2017. The last five years it moved more to the left. And the last year? Wow. The senior pastor sometimes referred to "us progressive Christians" and some including me thought "what do you mean 'us', white man?"

I was perusing my journal from that final year and was reminded the senior pastor did a sermon series on "what would Jesus say about political issues of the 2016 campaign?" It was not overtly partisan. But the policies and politics were pretty clear. He was encouraging us to vote Democrat without saying so explicitly.

In 26 years of pastoral ministry I never told people how to vote. My congregation had liberal Democrats and conservative Republicans with plenty in between. My message was consistently "this is good, this is just, and Christians will disagree on exactly how".

gilbar বলেছেন...

Inga said...
"I’m quoting from the same source Althouse quoted from."

and What Source was that?
oh, that's right.. The New York Times

Inga বলেছেন...

Gilbar, sweetie, as I said you’ve missed his point. I’m sorry you’re only grasping on to only part of his meaning.

Mike (MJB Wolf) বলেছেন...

FLC it is Trump's team that is pushing back on the stupid Johnson Amendment rules. They say it violates a church's free speech. As others noted above only Christian (usually evangelical) churches are EVER investigated by the IRS for campaigning. Predominantly Black churches (AME) are NEVER harrassed by the IRS. Monks were given free rein to donate to Gore.

I don't understand why you lump Trump in with the persecutors... unless you believe that lefty rant about "fearing" Trump.

The Vault Dweller বলেছেন...

@Bart Hall

I wasn't meaning to speak ill of the current Pope, or the previous one for that matter. I only wanted to touch upon you point that a lot of energy in Christianity is coming from the Global south hence I mentioned the African cardinal that had support even here in the West. I think your point about Pope Leo's ties to Peru also support that point of the increasing role Christians in the Global south are playing.

boatbuilder বলেছেন...

Perry's very small (fewer than 100 people) and dwindling congregation voted him out and fired him. This has nothing to do with the IRS, which has stated that pastors of all stripes may freely express political views and endorsements within the context of religious services without jeopardizing tax-exempt nonprofit status.

boatbuilder বলেছেন...

It used to be clear that endorsing a political candidate would disqualify a church from its tax-exempt status

When was that?

This is what Jeff Childers (Coffee & Covid) says about it:

"In 1954, Lyndon B. Johnson was a U.S. Senator running for reelection in Texas. Two small nonprofit groups (anti-LBJ, but tax-exempt) were campaigning against him. Annoyed, Johnson slipped a short amendment into the tax code saying nonprofits — including churches — would lose tax-exempt status if they endorsed or opposed political candidates. It passed without any floor debate.

image 15.png
Ironically, Johnson wasn’t even targeting churches. His real beef was with the secular nonprofits hammering him in Texas. Churches just got swept in by the amendment’s broad language. Until that time, it was commonplace for churches to be involved in politics, as you can easily imagine. It only seems weird to us because we’ve all grown up under the shadow of Johnson’s stupid amendment.

The IRS has never prosecuted a church for breaking the Johnson rule. Not once. Last month’s rule change wasn’t even a change; it was a clarification. In July 2025, the IRS settled a lawsuit brought by Texas churches and broadcasters, effectively saying the Johnson Amendment’s ban doesn’t apply whenever a pastor endorses inside a worship service to his own congregation.

That means pastors can indeed sermonize to their own flocks — endorsements, political messaging, etc. — without fear of IRS action or government censorship. The concession was the least the IRS could have done in light of the First Amendment."

boatbuilder বলেছেন...

It wasn't Perry. Sorry. Barker was the pastor who got voted out.
If anybody doesn't think that Perry is "...tied to a candidate or political party..." just look her up. In the meantime, there's a bridge I have for sale...

RCOCEAN II বলেছেন...

The IRS code was just another example of Christians shooting themselves in the foot. Synagogues regularly hold political debates and speeches. Black churchs sure as hell do political work. MLK was a preacher and he wasn't a Republican. LOL.

I"m sure Mosques aren't apolitical. Its only the dumb Christians that felt they had to be apolitical. Its not that I care that much, but one rule for everyone. NOt just in theory but in practice.

Steven বলেছেন...

Speaking from a Catholic perspective, I find priests and deacons who insist on politicized comments in their homilies to be completely out of line. At the Second Vatican Council, the Church specifically called on the laity to engage in their world and exercise their prudential judgment about how to apply Christian teachings to that engagement. Some priests and deacons seem unprepared for the lay person who, based on experience and professional training, has arrived at a different prudential judgment than they have regarding issues such as illegal immigration, politicians who (supposedly) can't speak in full sentences, or January 6.

None of these topics really belong in a homily unless the homilist is going to go into a deep theological dive--and even then it would be better to present these issues in a setting where the laity can respond.

Quick, snide remarks that insult those who in good faith have arrived at a different conclusions have no place during a church service, at least not in a Catholic mass.

Ron Winkleheimer বলেছেন...

"I too was surprised to hear a Christian pastor call themselves a prophet. I thought they were more like shepherds."

I agree with Inga on this, if you are in a church and the pastor starts calling themself a prophet get the hell out because snake handling or poisoned Kool-Aid are in the future, maybe both.

Another Lutheran denomination is Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ. LCMC. They broke from the ELCA because it had gone very far astray from Christ's teachings.

The Godfather বলেছেন...

In a Christian church, the primary message the clergy should be preaching is "Jesus Christ, the immortal Son of God, died to save you from your sins. Follow Him." Don't you think it would detract from the seriousness of that message for the pastor to also say, "And Jane Doaks would make a mighty fine Governor. Vote for her"?

The Middle Coast বলেছেন...

Setting aside the constitutional issue — the guy sounds like a real piece of work.

Josephbleau বলেছেন...

All the holy joes, they saw Beiden at the red pulpit and they all want to be God’s edge lord. The parsonage saves many from a life on the street.

narciso বলেছেন...

yes Jeremiah or Elijah or Isiah didn't call themselves prophets, their wisdom was revealed subsequently,

loudogblog বলেছেন...

A church should not be allowed to endorse a specific candidate. They should, however, be allowed to let the congregation know where the candidates stand on issues of that particular faith and let the congregation decide who to vote for.

loudogblog বলেছেন...

The Vault Dweller said...
" how is the typical Catholic supposed to interpret a Bishop excommunicating Nancy Pelosi?"

Excommunicating a politician is not an official endorsement for their opposition the same way that a nonprofit kicking a candidate out of their organization for breaking their rules is not an official endorsement of the candidate's opponent.

Tim বলেছেন...

Likely about judgement. Anyone who would endorse AOC for President is too stupid to be standing in the pulpit.

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