Every year around this time, questions come up about churches being involved in political elections. Questions like, “Can my church talk about issues that are at stake in the election,” “can my church pass out voter guides,” or “what if a candidate wants to address my congregation?”

Admittedly, it can be confusing for churches and pastors to know what is allowed during an election season.  Much of this confusion stems from the vagueness of the tax code and the accompanying IRS regulations. To help, Alliance Defending Freedom has created many resources for you to utilize this election season.

Guidelines for Churches and Pastors

You’ll find a host of resources on www.speakupmovement.org/church that will clearly spell out what churches and pastors can and cannot do. One popular resource is the Guidelines for “Political Activities” by Churches and Pastors. These guidelines represent the current IRS law regarding what churches and pastors can do during elections. There is a helpful chart included that covers a broad range of topics, such as contributions to candidates and voter education.

Another helpful resource is the Guidelines for Distribution of Voter Guides by Churches. This resource outlines the requirements for distributing voter guides in your church. You will also find a helpful explanation for how to determine what voter guides are appropriate for distribution.

These resources should help you make sense of the law and regulations surrounding elections. However, if you still have questions, please contact us directly. Our goal at Alliance Defending Freedom is to ensure that no church is silent during this election season simply because they don’t fully understand what they can do or are intimidated by misinformation.

Pulpit Freedom Sunday

Pulpit Freedom Sunday is all about ensuring that pastors determine what is said from their pulpits, and not the IRS or groups like Americans United for Separation of Church and State. The goal of Pulpit Freedom Sunday is to have the Johnson Amendment declared unconstitutional.  The Johnson Amendment (the last sentence of section 501(c)(3) of the tax code) has proven to be a weapon of censorship and intimidation of churches during election seasons.  In fact, groups like Americans United for Separation of Church and State frequently send letters to pastors trying to intimidate them into silence on the biblical issues surrounding elections. But we believe pastors and church leadership should determine what’s said from the pulpit, not the government or other organizations outside of the church.

On Pulpit Freedom Sunday, October 7, 2012, hundreds of pastors will stand together and preach a sermon that evaluates the candidates running for office in light of Scripture and Church doctrine.  Please go to www.pulpitfreedom.org and sign up to join this growing movement of bold pastors. If you are a pastor and you cannot participate on October 7, then pick a Sunday as close to that date as you can, but before the election. You can still sign up to participate and make your voice heard. Pulpit freedom is vital and this project is an important means of ensuring that much of the confusion and intimidation confronting churches during elections is removed.

It is our hope that these resources, and the many others you’ll find on www.speakupmovement.org/church, will help you as a pastor fulfill your biblical calling to “preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.” (2 Tim. 4:2). This calling extends even during election cycles, as biblical Truth does not take a holiday during a political campaign. Now, more than ever, the voice of America’s churches must be heard.

Americans United for Separation of Church and State recently announced that it sent over 60,000 letters to churches across the country, warning them from becoming involved in “partisan politicking” during this election season.  The letter tries to intimidate churches by ominously warning “If the IRS determines that your house of worship has engaged in unlawful intervention, it can revoke the institution’s tax-exempt status or levy significant fines on the house of worship or its leaders.”

Letters like this are a favorite tactic of AU.  For years now, it has attempted to intimidate churches into silence during election season.  But here’s the problem.  AU is using an unconstitutional law to try and intimidate and scare churches.

The Johnson Amendment, upon which AU bases its letter, is blatantly unconstitutional.  Under the First Amendment, the pastor has the right to determine what is said from the pulpit, not the IRS.

It’s ironic that an organization committed to the “separation of church and state” is arguing for more governmental monitoring and control of churches and pastors.  AU wants the IRS to monitor a pastor’s sermon, and to censor that pastor if the IRS agent happens to think that the pastor crosses the line.  This is especially problematic because the line of what is prohibited under the Johnson Amendment is very fuzzy.  That makes it convenient for AU to argue that churches have crossed the line when in fact they have not.

It’s time to remove the Johnson Amendment from the hands of AU.  It has been used as a weapon of intimidation against churches for far too long.  That’s why Pulpit Freedom Sunday is so important.  Because the whole goal of Pulpit Freedom Sunday is to protect the sanctity of the pulpit and to prevent the IRS, or radical groups like AU, from intimidating churches.  If you are a pastor, go to www.pulpitfreedom.org and sign up to participate in Pulpit Freedom Sunday on October 7.

Read Alliance Defending Freedom’s response letter to the AU letter.

PULPIT FREEDOM SUNDAY – OCTOBER 7, 2012

The future of religious freedom depends on a free pulpit to communicate fundamental, biblical principles to congregations across America. Join a growing movement of bold pastors preaching biblical Truth about candidates and elections from their pulpits on October 7, 2012.

For More Information on Pulpit Freedom Sunday: PulpitFreedom.org

Get the latest updates, news, videos and resources for Pulpit Freedom Sunday 2012.
More Updates

By Pastor Kevin Baird

I have been a pastor for over 28 years, and for many of those years of ministry I preached under a misconception that many (if not most) pastors live under, as well. It’s the misconception the IRS perpetuates through the Johnson Amendment to the 501 (c)(3) code that restricts our rights as pastors to apply the Bible to what might be deemed “political.” For year, I avoided many topics from the pulpit because I mistakenly thought that if I broached that topic I could jeopardize the church’s tax-exempt status. There was always this subtle “fear” that the IRS would sweep in and impose some kind of monstrous repercussion.

As my ministry matured through the years and I became more convinced that the Bible is to be applied to every arena of life (including public policy discussions and “politics”), I came to this crossroads again. Would I stand, declare, and apply the whole Word of God to my congregation with regards to these subjects, or would I tacitly allow the IRS to be a content manager of my sermons? It was during this season that I was introduced to the great people of Alliance Defending Freedom. This amazing team of attorneys took the time to help educate and inspire me to press forward in not only my First Amendment right of free speech, but in all reality, my mandate from God to speak into the culture.

So, when I heard about the Pulpit Initiative and the scheduling of Pulpit Freedom Sunday, I immediately wanted to participate. This coming year will be my third official year of being a participating pastor. On that Sunday, I intentionally prepare a message that addresses a current public policy or “political” issue and use the Scripture to either endorse it or critique it. For example, this year I am considering using the topic: “A Biblical Referendum on the Policies of our Current Administration.” At the end of the message I will make what I consider to be a biblical conclusion concerning the election. I will then do what I have done in previous years.  I will make the message public through all our media venues and also send the IRS a copy. I have to admit in my first year of participation I did have a slight residue of the fear that I previously lived under. After all, how many of us have lived under that self-imposed censorship for years?

What was the outcome of doing that?

I have never been contacted by the IRS and, to be candid, I do not expect to be. My congregation has been incredibly supportive and grateful for my leadership in this regard. I suspect many congregations are waiting to cheer their pastors forward if only their pastor would take the step and participate.

One of the good feelings is knowing that behind my ministry is the incredibly capable Alliance Defending Freedom team who will bring the resources and legal expertise should my sermon ever be challenged by the government. I could not encourage pastors more emphatically to get involved with Pulpit Freedom Sunday. Shake off the fear, embrace your call, and become a part of a powerful movement of pastors on Pulpit Freedom Sunday, October 7, 2012.

Five Reasons Your Participation is Vital

Pulpit Freedom Sunday is October 7, 2012.  In case you or others you may know are undecided about participating, let me give you five very good reasons why your participation is so important.  After considering these reasons, the next step is to  go to www.pulpitfreedom.org and sign up. You may even decide to send this information to five or ten of your pastor friends and urge them to sign up, as well. It’s time this movement of bold pastors sweeps the nation.

1.  The issues the country is facing are biblical issues. Pastors, more than many others, are uniquely suited to speak to the issues confronting the country in this election season.  Issues such as life, marriage, the family, the economy, the poor, and many others are addressed specifically in scripture.  The effect of the Johnson Amendment has been to make these biblical issues “political,” as if slapping a “political” label on an issue somehow removes it from the purview of scripture.  For example, a pastor preaching a sermon thirty years ago that abortion is wrong was just being biblical. But that same sermon today is labeled as political and, as a result, the pastor is sidelined into silence.  It’s not that the church is somehow becoming “political.”  It’s that politics is invading the realm of the church.

2.  The free exercise of religion requires a free pulpit.  The First Amendment prohibits the government from enacting laws prohibiting the free exercise of religion.  A pastor preaching a sermon from the pulpit is one of the core activities of the free exercise of religion.  A law, like the Johnson Amendment, that prohibits pastors from speaking freely from the pulpit violates the free exercise of religion.  How can the exercise of religion be free if your church is subject to fines and penalties for something you as a pastor say from the pulpit?

3.  Every church and pastor has the right to decide what is preached from their pulpit.  Pastors and churches should decide for themselves what is preached from the pulpit.  The IRS should have no power to insert itself into that decision-making process.  But since the adoption of the Johnson Amendment in 1954, the IRS has done just that.  Pulpit Freedom Sunday removes the government from the pulpits and churches of America.

4.  The Johnson Amendment is blatantly unconstitutional.  Pulpit Freedom Sunday is a head-on constitutional challenge to the Johnson Amendment, which is blatantly unconstitutional.  This unjust law, which never should have been applied to churches and pastors, has had a devastating effect on their constitutionally protected rights.  Pulpit Freedom Sunday is a strategic initiative to remove this unjust law and restore a pastor’s right to speak freely from the pulpit.

5.  America needs to hear from pastors.  Pastors in America have a rich tradition of speaking prophetically and boldly from their pulpits on the great issues of the day.  The voice of America’s pastors led the way through independence, slavery, civil rights, and have even influenced which men and women we put into public office.  But because of the Johnson Amendment, the voice of pastors is unjustly silenced every election cycle.  It’s time for America’s pastors to become part of the process again and to stop being sidelined by an unconstitutional law.

As pastors, you have a decision to make – do you want to have the ability to speak freely on all issues the Bible addresses, or do you want to let the IRS and culture define for you what is permissible for you to address?  Pulpit Freedom Sunday frees pastors to make that decision for themselves.

These are just five good reasons why you should take a moment and go to www.pulpitfreedom.org to sign up to participate in Pulpit Freedom Sunday on October 7, 2012.  It’s time to stand… time to stand together with hundreds of other pastors from across the country who agree that pastors, and not the government, should decide what is said from the pulpit.