IRS Allows Churches Political Endorsements While Retaining Tax Exemptions

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS), under President Trump's administration in 2025, has settled a lawsuit allowing churches and other tax-exempt religious organizations to endorse political candidates from the pulpit without risking their tax-exempt status. This settlement challenges the Johnson Amendment, a 1954 law prohibiting such political campaign involvement by these organizations, by redefining political endorsements during religious services as private communications akin to family discussions. The IRS clarified that when houses of worship speak on electoral politics through customary religious channels, they neither participate in nor intervene in political campaigns under the ordinary meaning of those terms. This shift has sparked debate about the separation of church and state and raised concerns that religious leaders can now pressure congregants to support political candidates. Despite this regulatory change, public opinion remains largely opposed to churches endorsing political candidates, with about 75% of Americans against it, although support is higher among Republicans, white evangelical Protestants, and Christian nationalist groups. The legal and societal ramifications continue to unfold as religious organizations navigate this new interpretation of political speech rights within worship settings.