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Just days before the 2022 midterm elections, a widely touted media outlet has accused the Biden administration of not cracking down hard enough on churches. Yet critics say the law the story endorses violates the First Amendment’s protection of religious liberty.
Those advocating the crackdown on churches represent a Soros-funded organization.
Be informed, not misled.
Ben Johnson, senior reporter and editor at The Washington Stand, has written an excellent, informative article that exposes how serious the Left, including George Soros, is about silencing the church regarding the political culture.
ProPublica describes itself as "a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power."
It is far Left and widely read. And is activist in its reporting.
The article linked above says it was co-published with The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan local newsroom that informs and engages with Texans.
However, their attack on Christian churches that are addressing the social ills of the culture is really about silencing the church, and stripping away religious freedom in the name of "separation" and in the name of the "Johnson Amendment."
The writers of the story in ProPublica claim the specific church they identify is acting outside the law by advocating for certain politicians.
They say it was a violation of a long-standing federal law barring churches and nonprofits from directly or indirectly participating in political campaigns, according to tax law experts.
The experts said, "Although the provision was mostly uncontroversial for decades after it passed in 1954, it has become a target for both evangelical churches and former President Donald Trump, who vowed to eliminate it."
About the Johnson Amendment
The Soros-funded publication seemingly boasted of the government’s longstanding intimidation of pastors and other clergies. They say, “At one point, churches fretted over losing their tax-exempt status for even unintentional missteps. But the IRS has largely abdicated its enforcement responsibilities as churches have become more brazen."
The last several administrations have done little to enforce the law, especially President Donald Trump, who signed an executive order reiterating his support for churches’ legal free speech rights.
Trump had been working on repealing the Johnson Amendment because it is unconstitutional.
Future President, then-Democrat Senator Lyndon B. Johnson proposed the measure to advance his own career and stifle his political opponents.
Two nonprofit organizations — Facts Forum and the Committee for Constitutional Government — took out ads opposing Johnson. The Texan proposed an amendment banning any group with their tax-exempt status from targeting a political candidate with an amendment that the Senate adopted by voice vote without floor discussion in July 1954.
The provision “absolutely prohibited” churches or other 501(c)3 institutions “from directly or indirectly participating in, or intervening in, any political campaign on behalf of any candidate for elective public office.” Ironically, it came two months after a Senate report claimed the real threat to America came from left-wing nonprofits “changing both school and college curricula to the point where they sometimes denied the principles underlying the American way of life,” and trying “to determine the most effective means by which education could be pressed into service of a political nature.”
“The ban on [church] electioneering has nothing to do with the First Amendment or Jeffersonian principles of separation of church and state," according to the late Professor James D. Davidson of Purdue University. The First Amendment speaks of religious freedom; it says nothing that would preclude churches from aligning themselves with or against candidates for political office, he said in his writings.
He said, “From a constitutional perspective, then, American churches have had every right to endorse or oppose political candidates.”
Church and State
The whole idea of the so-called "Separation of Church and State" was created by the purposeful misreading of a letter written by Thomas Jefferson. What he actually said has been stood on its head.
Inverted.
Jefferson was assuring the Danbury Baptists that the US government would not meddle in the affairs of the church. In fact, he assured the Baptists, "We have created a wall of separation" to protect the church from government interference.
Jefferson's wall was designed to keep the government out of the church's business, not keep the church out of the government's business. It was not meant to stifle and alienate the work of the church, as it is now used to do.
The Johnson Amendment was birthed out of that lie.
“Our nation’s pastors have a long and rich history of speaking into moral issues of concern to our nation — from slavery, to poverty, and all manner of other issues affecting their communities. Those seeking to stifle their voices now trifle with a necessary piece of a self-governing society,” Travis Weber, vice president for Policy and Government Affairs at the Family Research Council told The Washington Stand.
Takeaway
Tony Perkins, President of the "Family Research Council" says this:
Efforts to crack down on Christian speech match other Biden administration initiatives such as arresting pro-life advocates and collaborating with social media platforms to suppress stories that present Democratic candidates in a negative light. “They are twisting the IRS policy to try to silence churches, It’s voter suppression. Yes, there’s suppression going on, but it’s the Left trying to suppress evangelicals” and other “Bible-believing Christians.”
In conclusion, he said:
“That’s why you need to not only vote yourself, but you need to make sure you’re taking family and friends with you. We have to overwhelm them at the polls and vote biblical values."
Be Informed. Be Discerning. Be Vigilant. Be Engaged. Be Bold. Be Prayerful.