WASHINGTON –  As Americans prepare for the upcoming election, pastors and church leaders must not be silent on the candidates’ positions regarding biblical and moral issues. Clergy should encourage people to vote and even assist them to the polls. There will never be a perfect candidate for office. Voting is a privilege and a duty and we must vote for the candidate who will best support core values.

No church has ever lost its tax-exempt status for opposing or supporting a candidate for political office. Churches and pastors may speak on biblical and moral issues.  They can educate about the candidates’ viewpoints. They can encourage people to vote and can assist them in getting to the polls. Liberty Counsel’s “Patriot’s Handbook of Political Action for Pastors and Churches” is a thorough resource for pastors’ rights.

Even the Church at Pierce Creek in Binghamton, New York, which was sued by the IRS after it took out full-page ads in the USA Today and The Washington Times opposing Bill Clinton for president, did not lose its tax-exempt status. 

“The truth is, no church has never lost its tax-exempt status for either endorsing or opposing any political candidate or endorsing or opposing a local, state, or federal law,” said Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel. “Voting is both a privilege and a duty. The future of America is at stake every time we face a national election, and this upcoming election is one of the most important elections in recent history. To not vote is to vote. Silence is not an option. I encourage pastors to remove the muzzle that secularists want to put on them and exchange it for a megaphone to speak biblical truths regarding social and moral issues,” said Staver.

Liberty Counsel has provided about 200,000 DVDs of Silence is NOT an Option to pastors and church leaders around America. Compiled through decades of experience regarding churches and nonprofit organizations, these resources encourage pastors and church leaders to speak up on important biblical and moral issues.

View Mat Staver’s video and learn more about the rights pastors have to speak on political issues and candidates.

Liberty Counsel is an international nonprofit, litigation, education, and policy organization dedicated to advancing religious freedom, the sanctity of life, and the family since 1989, by providing pro bono assistance and representation on these and related topics.