Religious leaders can endorse candidates now. Haven’t they always?
The Johnson Amendment has never been strictly enforced
Johnson Amendment
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Fast Forward GOP Tax Bill Won’t Include Repeal Of Johnson Amendment
WASHINGTON (JTA) — A decades-old ban on houses of worship directly involving themselves in elections has survived a repeal bid by House Republican leaders. In a move that no doubt will be welcomed by a broad spectrum of Jewish groups, the Senate parliamentarian ruled Thursday that the repeal effort did not belong in the tax…
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News Jews United Against Tax Plan Changes On Charity Deductions And Church-State Separation
The old joke about “two Jews, three opinions,” is usually true when it comes to Jewish advocacy groups. President Donald Trump’s announcement that the United States would recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital city inspired jubilation in groups on the Jewish right and dire warnings from the left. But the Trump tax reform proposal, which passed…
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Fast Forward Will Trump Tax Cuts Allow Rabbis To Preach Politics From The Pulpit?
The Republican tax bill that recently passed the House of Representatives contains an obscure provision that many right-wing Christian activists have been advocating for — a repeal of the Johnson Amendment, a 1954 law that prohibits churches and synagogues from engaging in political activity. Currently, pastors who endorse candidates from the pulpit could risk having…
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Fast Forward GOP Tax Bill’s Endorsement Rule Will Hurt Jewish Groups, Many Say
(JTA) — Dozens of Jewish nonprofits and religious institutions are urging Congress to oppose efforts to weaken or repeal a law that prohibits tax-exempt nonprofits from supporting or opposing candidates for public office. A letter signed by 55 Jewish groups was sent Wednesday to the chairman and ranking member of the U.S. House of Representatives…
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Fast Forward Republican Tax Plan Would Let Churches, Synagogues Endorse Candidates
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. religious entities would be allowed to engage in political activity without the risk of losing their tax-exempt status under a Republican proposal to overhaul the tax code unveiled on Thursday, a move that could give influential community leaders more latitude to try to influence voters. The plan would eliminate a provision…
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Fast Forward While Comey Speaks, Trump Finds Refuge With Evangelical Supporters
President Donald Trump found a friendly audience at the conservative Faith and Freedom Coalition conference, as the nation’s attention was focused on Capitol Hill where fired FBI director James Comey described his interactions with Trump and his dismissal. The audience, comprised mostly of evangelicals, received Trump warmly, cheered his applause lines about Obamacare and provided…
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Opinion Ban On Partisan Pulpits Is Key to Protecting Religious Freedom
(JTA) That small little law known as the Johnson Amendment, which prohibits electioneering by houses of worship and other charities and which President Trump has vowed to repeal, is exceptionally important to preserve. Even if it is not widely enforced, the permission it grants to the Internal Revenue Service to pursue violators is critical to…
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