Tag Archives: Johnson Amendment

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Censoring Sermons

For more than 60 years, the IRS has used the “Johnson Amendment” to censor what churches and pastors preach from the pulpit. Under the Johnson Amendment, pastors' First Amendment rights have become bargaining chips to be exchanged for a tax status. Pastors who share truth on biblical issues – like the sanctity of life and marriage – could risk intrusive IRS audits, incur steep fines, and even jeopardize their church’s tax-exempt status.
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Christian Leaders Call on Congressional Leaders to Support the ‘Free Speech Fairness Act’

Last October the Illinois Family Institute brought attention to the “Free Speech Fairness Act.” Now faith leaders from around the country, including IFI's executive director David E. Smith, are signing a letter addressed U.S. Congressional leaders calling for the passage of the bill. This letter was delivered earlier this week...
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Good News: President Trump Signs Executive Order to Promote Religious Liberty

Fulfilling a campaign promise to get rid of the “Johnson Amendment,” President Donald Trump, according to Liberty Counsel, “signed an executive order today that promotes religious liberty throughout the federal agencies in general and in certain specific areas”:

The executive order declares that it is the policy of the Administration to protect and vigorously promote religious liberty, directs the IRS to exercise maximum enforcement of discretion to alleviate the burden of the Johnson Amendment, and provides regulatory relief for religious objectors to Obamacare’s burdensome preventive services mandate.

The Johnson Amendment, named for then-Senator Lyndon B. Johnson of Texas

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Support the Free Speech Fairness Act

Some of our best voices in the nation are being silenced when it comes to discussing the critical issues facing the country. It just so happens that every Sunday you can hear one of these voices speaking from the pulpit about salvation and the Bible and Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, too often those preachers fear wading onto ground that is deemed “political.”

Here’s the problem, though. These days almost everything is being made into a political issue – and that’s being done on purpose by those that wish to see an ever-growing government and an ever-shrinking private sector. When everything is …

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Five Things to Know about the New Johnson Amendment Fix

Late last month, U.S. Representatives Steve Scalise (R-LA) and Jody Hice (R-GA) introduced a bill in the U.S. House called the Free Speech Fairness Act. The bill is aimed at fixing the Johnson Amendment, a 1954 addition to the tax code that gives the IRS the ability to censor the speech of pastors, churches, and other nonprofit entities on issues related to candidates and elections. Here are five things you need to know about the bill:
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Congressman Goes After Johnson Amendment

A member of Congress is asking for the public's help to gain free speech rights for pastors and religious organizations.
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