Written by Don Byrd
An article in today’s Politico looks at the expansion of “Pulpit Freedom Sunday” this year to a reported 1,600 pastors, and the mystery surrounding what, if anything, the IRS plans to do in response. At issue are regulations governing tax-exempt organizations like churches, which prohibit the endorsement of candidates. the pastors in question have openly defied those regulations in hopes of generating a legal challenge to the rules on First Amendment grounds.
So far, the IRS has declined to pursue a pulpit freedom participant.
Although the IRS was sued itself for not enforcing the law and admitted about 100 churches may be breaking the rules, the pastors and their critics alike say the agency is looking the other way. The agency refuses to say if it is acting.
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Marc Owens, the former head of the IRS tax-exempt division who has filed complaints against the Pulpit Freedom Sunday pastors, said the IRS is hurting overall tax compliance by failing to address the issue.
The lawsuit was dropped earlier this year after the IRS claimed to be reviewing relevant policies, but the continued inaction has let down supporters of the rule as well as those who would like to see it overturned.
The Baptist Joint Committee supports the current rules as “striking the right balance between protections for individuals and tax-exempt entities and maintaining a healthy separation of church and state.” For more, see the BJC’s church electioneering page here.
