An anonymous attacker has published threats against Open Door Church in Gillette, Wyoming. Letters addressed to the secretary of state and to Gillette media outlets claim to have filed a complaint with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and urge multiple government agencies and media outlets to harass the church with investigations. The author even attempts to discourage members to give offerings.
And what has Open Door Church done to deserve this financial terrorism? It opened its doors to an event that was shut out of the local public library. Four local churchgoers running for office publicly signed a campaign pledge in an event that was neither endorsed nor hosted by the church.
This, claimed the anonymous author, “was conducted in a religious institution subject to non-profit status.” Note the word, “subject.” In this twisted worldview, non-profit status subjugates churches to the government. The letter goes on to claim: “They acquire this [non-profit] status by promising not to engage in certain political lobbying or campaigning.” This expresses an astounding ignorance of federal law.
Non-profit status is not “acquired” by churches. It is—and always has been a pre-political reality. Just as human beings have “the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” because they are human beings, and not by governmental fiat, so also American churches are exempt from taxes by virtue of their being churches and not by the grace of the government.
Perhaps the author was confused by the so-called “Johnson Amendment.” In 1954, future president, Lyndon Baines Johnson, was upset that some churches in Texas openly opposed his election to the Senate. So, he sponsored retaliatory legislation that inserted a condition into IRS code. It says that non-profit corporations must “not participate in, or intervene in (including the publishing or distributing of statements), any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office.”
In the 66 years since the amendment became law, the IRS has never even attempted to enforce it. In 2008, multiple churches sought to precipitate a challenge in open court. Ministers recorded sermons endorsing specific candidates and sent them to the IRS. They knew that any court would strike down the Johnson Amendment as unconstitutional. The IRS’ Exempt Organizations Unit —even under Lois Lerner’s infamous directorship—did nothing.
The Johnson Amendment is like an unloaded gun in the arsenal of anti-religious activists. Pointed at any church, it has massive power to intimidate—loaded or not. This is exactly how it is being used in Gillette. Prosecuting attorneys call it “assault with a deadly weapon” even if the gun is not loaded.
Even if a church endorses candidates for public office, federal law has no power or right to tax it. Recently, Federal Election Commission (FEC) chair, Trey Trainor, took to the airwaves to make this clear. He said that, “religious organizations needed to be treated the same as every other organization. The Johnson Amendment is still on the books but, with lack of enforcement authority by the executive agency, it’s a law that’s not going to be enforced.”
According to Trainor, “the test that the Department of the Treasury uses now is: ‘If that same speech would come from a non-religious organization, could it be prosecuted?’” He continues: “Clearly it would be First-Amendment activity for any other organization to engage in. And, therefore, the church should be able to engage in it.”
Of course, wise and faithful churches will limit their own speech to matters clearly addressed by the Holy Scriptures. Politicizing the Gospel is an affront to God and an abuse of His word. But silence on plain biblical teaching is also an affront to God. This is not only true of topics like abortion and sexuality. It is also true of specific government officials from King Ahab in the Old Testament to Herod Antipas in the New.
The U.S. Constitution protects the freedom of churches to perform these duties and to decide these matters of doctrine. The government has no competence or authority to instruct churches about where they should draw the line.
Not only is the government forbidden to criminalize the church’s speech, it is also forbidden to suppress it through financial pressure. President Trump’s executive order specifically forbids “the imposition of any tax or tax penalty,” as well as “the delay or denial of tax-exempt status; the disallowance of tax deductions for contributions made to entities exempted from taxation under section 501(c)(3) of title 26, United States Code; or any other action that makes unavailable or denies any tax deduction, exemption, credit or benefit.”
Attempts to intimidate churches into silence are despicable and shameful. Whether masked rioters are burning buildings, or anonymous assaulters are threatening financial ruin, the evil is the same. Churches are free to be faithful to God’s word. On this, we should all agree.
Also published in the Wyoming Tribune Eagle, October 23, 2020.
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