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The Johnson Amendment


What Is the Johnson Amendment
 & Why Should We Keep It?

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The Johnson Amendment


What Is the Johnson Amendment
 & Why Should We Keep It?

The Johnson Amendment protects the integrity of tax-exempt organizations by ensuring they do not endorse or oppose candidates. Americans do not want our charities and houses of worship to be torn apart by partisan campaign politics.

The American tax code grants houses of worship and other nonprofits special tax-free status specifically because they work for the common good.

The Johnson Amendment is a provision in the tax code that protects the integrity of these tax-exempt organizations by ensuring they do not endorse or oppose political candidates. At the same time, these groups maintain robust free speech rights and can speak out on any social or political issue they choose.

This law, which has been in place for six decades, is a valuable safeguard that ensures political parties and candidates seeking power can't use houses of worship and other tax-exempt organizations as their tool. In addition, it protects the taxpayer, who should not be forced to subsidize partisan election activities.

President Donald Trump has vowed to "get rid of and totally destroy the Johnson Amendment." This is a bad and widely unpopular idea. Repealing the law would divide congregations and dismantle the nonprofit structure as we know it.

That is why it is more important than ever to fight to protect the Johnson Amendment.

Reasons to Support
the Johnson Amendment:

Houses of worship can already speak to political issues:

Under current law, churches and church leaders are already fully able to exercise their free speech. Among other things, houses of worship can speak to any issue they choose from the pulpit or in public, and they can write about issues in bulletins or their website. They can also host candidate forums, engage in voter registration drives, encourage people to vote, help transport people to the polls, and more. In addition, church leaders are absolutely free to support or endorse political candidates as private citizens—just like any of us can.

Current law is a safeguard for houses of worship:

Current law ensures that sanctuaries remain sacred and houses of worship focus on fostering community and performing good works. Changing the law would fundamentally change their character and diminish the distinctive role of the church. Tying America’s houses of worship to partisan elections would divide congregants, and set houses of worship against each other along political lines. Moreover, changing the Johnson Amendment would mean that politicians will pressure churches for endorsements.

Americans don't want houses of worship to endorse candidates:

According to several recent polls, the vast majority of Americans—including the majority of people of faith and faith leaders—oppose allowing churches and places of worship to endorse political candidates while retaining their tax-exempt status. In addition, 99 religious and denomination organizations recently sent a letter to Congress telling it to protect the law. And 4,500 tax-exempt organizations just submitted a similar letter to Congress.

Read more polls here. 

Read more letters here

Faith Leaders Sign this letter:

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Efforts to Repeal the Law


Efforts to Repeal the Law


The Johnson Amendment had been relatively noncontroversial for decades and the law remains popular with the American people. Nonetheless, a small but vocal opposition to the provision has emerged and folks like Jerry Falwell Jr. and Donald Trump have been advocating for the repeal of the law. 

Trump's Promise To Repeal And "Destroy" Current law

The Johnson Amendment made big news recently because, as a candidate, Donald Trump pledged to repeal the provision. He even amended the Republican Party’s official platform to explicitly include a call to repeal the law. Now president, Trump continues to repeat his promise that he will repeal the Johnson Amendment. At the 2017 National Prayer Breakfast, he pledged to "get rid of and totally destroy the Johnson Amendment." And at the May 4, 2017 National Day or Prayer ceremony at the White House, he signed an executive order aimed at limiting the IRS' ability to enforce the law. 

Legislation To Repeal or Weaken Current law

Congress is already considering two bills  that would repeal or weaken current law. In addition, representative Kevin Brady (R-TX), the Chairman of the House Ways and Mean Committee (the committee that oversees tax issues), has stated that in "our Republican tax reform, we're going to repeal the damaging effects of the Johnson Amendment once and for all."

In addition, a May 4, 2017 House Oversight & Government Reform joint subcommittee held a hearing designed to drum up support for legislation that would repeal or weaken the current law.

Pulpit Freedom Sunday

A large Religious Right group, Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), has been prodding pastors to openly violate the law by endorsing or opposing candidates from the pulpit. Every election year, ADF hosts a mis-named event called “Pulpit Freedom Sunday” during which pastors are urged to endorse or oppose candidates as part of their sermons.

 

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Polls


Polls: The majority of Americans don't want their pastors endorsing candidates from the pulpit.

Polls


Polls: The majority of Americans don't want their pastors endorsing candidates from the pulpit.

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Talking Points


Talking Points


Current law protects all tax-exempt organizations, including houses of worship, by ensuring they do not endorse or oppose candidates because it shields them from being transformed into partisan campaign operations or a way to funnel money to political candidates.

Current Law Protects the Integrity and Independence of Houses of Worship

Houses of worship minister to their congregants and communities and speak out on issues of justice and morality, but stay above the fray of campaigns for political office. Changing the law would fundamentally change their character and diminish their distinctive role.

Individuals, corporations, and partisan groups could offer large donations to congregations and then demand they take a position on a candidate, transforming houses of worship into conduits for political activity and expenditures. And after they make an endorsement, ouses of worship could feel pressure to refrain from speaking out on issues of the day if that would conflict with a candidate’s positions.

Becoming enmeshed in the campaign process could also divide congregants along political lines and set houses of worship against each other.

Houses of Worship Can Already Engage in the Political Process

Under current law, faith leaders and houses of worship can preach or speak out on any political or social issue or on legislation. For example, houses of worship can speak out on political or social issues. For instance, houses of worship can take positions on issues of concern, lobby on legislation and endorse or oppose non-partisan referendum; host candidate forums and distribute answers to candidate questionnaires; and encourage people to vote, including through voter registration drives, and driving people to the polls. 

In addition, faith leaders can endorse or even become candidates when they do so in their personal capacity and not on behalf of their congregations.

Current Law Protects the Integrity of All Tax-Exempt Organizations

The government grants organizations tax-exempt status in order to encourage them to carry out charitable work. Repealing the Johnson Amendment would turn charities into political campaign operations, decreasing the amount of time and resources dedicated to good works and eroding the public’s trust in all non-profits. 

Our current tax code is designed to incentivize donations to organizations that serve the community. Changing current law would instead incentivize donations to organizations to support political candidates. 

Current Law Protects Taxpayers

Repeal of the Johnson Amendment would result in taxpayers subsidizing political campaigns rather than nonpartisan charity work. 

Current Law Protects The Integrity of Our Election System.

Repeal of the Johnson Amendment would allow partisan campaign operatives to anonymously funnel unlimited campaign funds through houses of worship and other tax-exempt organizations, essentially transforming charitable organizations into super PACs.

The Vast Majority of Americans Support Current Law

A poll conducted in March 2017 by Independent Sector found that 72% of voters want to keep the Johnson Amendment in place.

A March 2017 poll by PRRI, which also looked at religious affiliation of those polled, found "more than seven in ten (71%) Americans oppose allowing churches and places of worship to endorse political candidates while retaining their tax-exempt status, compared to only 22% who favor such a policy."  It found that sixty-two percent of Republicans and fifty-six percent of white evangelical Protestants also support current law. 

For all of these reasons, we support current law and oppose its repeal. We also oppose proposals that fall short of a full repeal of the prohibition but still undermine existing protections. Legislation that would inject an “insubstantial” standard or allow electioneering if it is in furtherance of an organization’s mission would risk significant government intrusion and scrutiny. Maintaining a clear and total prohibition against campaign intervention is important to the free exercise of religion