The Alliance Defense Fund announced that this Sunday they will try again to generate a lawsuit challenging the IRS' ban on non-profit campaign activity, as it applies to political endorsements from the pulpit. The previous effort last September was short-circuited when the tax agency declined to pursue an investigation into any of the overt violations referred by watchdog groups. Will it work this time? Who knows. There is one big difference between last September and this one: there is no pending national election. Proximity to elections is one of the factors the IRS lists as reason to be more careful in making political pronouncements, to avoid the appearance of trying to influence the outcome of the election.
ADF's press release (via Howard Friedman at Religion Clause) says:
More than 80 pastors nationwide will be participating in the Alliance Defense Fund’s second annual Pulpit Freedom Sunday on Sept. 27. The pastors will preach sermons related to biblical perspectives on the positions of electoral candidates or current government officials…
Nothing, though in IRS regulations prohibits pastors from preaching out on the issues of the day from a biblical perspective, or from advocating for or against specific initiatives, provided such advocacy is not a significant percentage of a non-profit organization's activities. Advocating for or against the election of particular candidates is where a pastor would lead a church afoul of tax exempt status.
