Hidden In GOP Tax Bill: Churches As Political Tools

FEATURING ROB BOSTON – As news outlets are continuing to parse the whopping 429-page tax reform bill introduced by House Republicans last week, there is one crucial aspect of the bill that is getting little attention: a weakening of the Johnson Amendment.

The Johnson Amendment prohibits non-profit and tax exempt organizations from endorsing political candidates. Most churches have non-profit status and the group Americans United for Separation of Church and State worries that Donald Trump’s administration and the Republican Party may want to enable churches to endorse candidates. For decades evangelical Christians especially have veered toward the GOP and a weakening of the Johnson Amendment may make churches even greater political tools of the right.

Find more at www.au.org.

Rob Boston, Director of Communications at Americans United for Separation of Church and State.