The IRS needs to immediately investigate two high-profile instances of churches intervening in the presidential election, the Freedom From Religion Foundation is demanding in two letters sent yesterday.
FFRF recently called on IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel to take action to enforce the Johnson Amendment. But already new concerns have arisen.
On Oct. 27, Pastor Gus Booth, from the pulpit at Warroad Community Church in Warroad, Minn., publicly endorsed Donald Trump, encouraged his congregants to vote for Trump in the election, denigrated Democrats, then challenged the IRS to take action against him for his clear violation of the law. A local news outlet reported that he made several other statements endorsing individual candidates, opposing individual candidates or criticizing the Democratic Party:
“We have to be anti-Marxist, anti-socialist, simply anti-Democratic Party, a party who has killed and still wants to kill the most innocent among us.”
“A vote for the Democrat Party is a vote for evil.”
“If you are a Democrat voting Christian, that’s like sayin’ you’re a vegetarian who eats hamburgers.”
Booth made statements indicating he clearly doesn’t understand that his church is a privileged 501(c)(3) entity that, because of its ability to receive tax-exempt donations, may not use any of its resources for partisan or electioneering purposes: “The churches in America are not taxable. It’s not that they’re tax-exempt, it’s different. To make matters even weirder, you don’t lose your First Amendment right when you are tax-exempt.”
He directly challenged the IRS to take action to try to stop his illegal conduct, and implied that the IRS is afraid to take action against him to enforce the law: “I hope the IRS comes after me. They actually did once, finally, and then all of a sudden they just sent me a letter that stopped their inquiry because I want to provoke a court battle. I believe there are two competing federal amendments. The IRS doesn’t want to fight that because they know that I’m right.”
The IRS must start an inquiry, FFRF says, because Booth has made clear that Warroad Community Church is using tax-exempt resources for political purposes, thereby violating the Johnson Amendment.
In another instance of egregious politicking, Rev. Michael R. Jordan, pastor of New Era Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala., posted multiple messages on the church’s marquee urging his congregants and community members not to vote for Trump in the presidential election. The most recent message read, “Warning African Americans: A vote for Trump will put Blacks back to picking cotton,” on one side and, “Attention to all Blacks who plan to vote for Trump: You are an ignorant stupid Negro,” on the other.
The IRS code states that to retain its 501(c)(3) status, an organization cannot “participate in, or intervene in (including the publishing or distributing of statements), any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office.” This ensures that tax-exempt donations, which all taxpayers subsidize, are not misused for political purposes. In this instance, both churches have breached their tax-exempt status responsibilities by intervening in the U.S. presidential election.
“To belabor the obvious, when someone makes a political donation, they cannot deduct that partisan donation from taxes,” explains FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. “For the same reason, churches and all other 501(c)(3) entities may not use these tax-exempt donations for political ends. That’s just dirty pool, and, in my opinion, a civic ‘sin’ they sought to be ashamed of.”
FFRF is a registered 501(c)(3), and takes this designation, along with the accompanying benefits and responsibilities, very seriously. However, some churches have chosen to make a mockery of their 501(c)(3) status by reaping all of the benefits while openly engaging in politics and endorsing political candidates.
Ministries can’t be allowed to get away with blatant politicking. They must abide by the same rules as other nonprofits — or lose their tax code privileges.
While voting ends today, FFRF is still doing some clean-up work on the many lingering violations reported in the final weeks of the election.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a national nonprofit organization with 40,000 members and several chapters across the country. Our purposes are to protect the constitutional principle of separation between state and church, and to educate the public on matters relating to nontheism.
