海角大神

My daughter just finished the fifth grade听and loved learning about the American Revolution.听 Over the July 4th听holiday, she explained why the colonists wanted independence: 鈥淧eople didn鈥檛 want to have to pay taxes without having a say in their government.鈥澨�

I asked her if the opposite were ever true: Should organizations that enjoy tax-free status, such as churches, lose their political voice? Churches are exempt from federal income taxes as听. Should they have a political say? My daughter thought about it for less than a minute: 鈥淯m鈥� No.鈥澨�

My rising sixth-grader doesn鈥檛 know it, but she鈥檚 just stumbled into an obscure, but heated, issue of the day. Some clergy鈥攎ostly on the political right鈥攂elieve that the tax law does indeed stifle their political speech. And Donald Trump has promised to rescue them. 听

My daughter, in fact, takes a much tougher view than the Internal Revenue Code. The IRS听 says a 501(c)(3) 鈥渕ay not be an听, i.e.,听it may not attempt to influence legislation as a substantial part of its activities and it may not participate in any campaign activity for or against political candidates.鈥澨�

The law does not prohibit clergy from speaking on policy issues of the day. However, in a meeting with hundreds of evangelical leaders last month, Trump seemed to听听by repealing any limits on church-based political activity:

I think maybe that will be my greatest contribution to 海角大神ity鈥攁nd other religions鈥攊s to allow you, when you talk religious liberty, to go and speak openly, and if you like somebody or want somebody to represent you, you should have the right to do it.

In a CNN听听last month, Marjorie Dannenfelser of the Susan B. Anthony List and Bishop Harry Jackson of the Hope 海角大神 Church elaborated on Trump鈥檚 promise. Said Dannenfelser:

[Trump] brought up鈥� repealing the Johnson Amendment many times during this conversation鈥� [It鈥檚] a limitation on religious people鈥� If you have鈥� the church tax status, you can't speak out in elections.

Jackson added,

The Johnson Amendment originally was really suppressing the voice of the African-American church. The freedom of speech鈥� should be our right as is consistent with our faith.

The plot thickens: What is this Johnson Amendment?听

As David Shipler听听The Atlantic,听Congress passed the law on July 2, 1954, at the bidding of then Senator Lyndon B. Johnson. LBJ was furious that conservative, tax-exempt organizations were backing an opponent. So he got even. With little debate, Congress passed his amendment that extended the curbs on lobbying by 501(c)(3)s to include political campaigning.听

Importantly, the ban applied to religious and secular organizations alike. So, for instance, a tax-exempt hospital foundation can鈥檛 endorse a candidate who backs a change in national health policy, and a private university can鈥檛 support a lawmaker who favors aid to higher education.

Has the Johnson Amendment suppressed the free speech of churches or religious leaders, as Dannenfelser and Jackson charge? Will Trump save the proverbial day? In the words of my daughter: Um, no.听

Churches鈥攁nd their clergy鈥攕till enjoy broad latitude when it comes to expressing views on policy issues. The听听churches can conduct educational meetings, produce and share educational materials, and talk about public policy issues without jeopardizing their tax-exempt status. Religious leaders can even express their political opinions as individuals, though not on behalf of their church.

And what if a church violates the rules? The IRS can investigate if a high-level Treasury Department official听听a house of worship is overstepping the law, but you can count on one hand the number of cases the service has brought in recent decades. 听

In other words, as the president of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability听听鈥淒espite those鈥� implying the IRS is lurking behind every tree, the risk of an IRS audit at your church is very low.鈥�

Besides, if churches truly feel called to engage in political campaigns they can do so without fear of IRS reprisal. They could incorporate as a 501(c)(6) organization and pay a 35 percent excise tax on their political expenditures. Or, they could create a separate 501(c)(4) to engage in political advocacy.听

Of course, they鈥檇 pay a price鈥攊n the form of lost tax subsidies. Donors cannot make tax-exempt contributions to those organizations听like they can with churches. And political organizations usually have to pay property taxes, while churches do not. But churches have the choice.

Imagine what would happen if Congress did allow political campaigning by houses of worship. Would taxpayers find themselves subsidizing the Church of the Chamber of Commerce, which might collect tax-exempt contributions to help out friendly lawmakers? Or the Congregation of Gun Control, doing the same to back candidates who support gun show background checks? 听

The claim that the IRS stifles religious free speech seems overblown at best, but the issue generates deep and vocal passion among a key segment of the American electorate. Trump, in turn, seems to be selling them a solution that could cause even more problems. Why?

Now there鈥檚 a mystery even my daughter could solve.

This article first appeared at .