Atheist Group Tries to Block Monumental Return of Church Rights 

Liberty Counsel has been asked to intervene.

One year ago this month, two religious nonprofit groups and two churches sued the IRS over the Johnson Amendment, which since 1954 has been used to silence pastors and churches. The plaintiffs argued that the Johnson Amendment violates their First Amendment rights to the freedom of speech and free exercise of religion and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

The IRS agreed, and a settlement was reached. That settlement is now in a judge’s hands awaiting approval.

But an atheist group is trying to stop this historic restoration of religious freedom. The plaintiffs have asked Liberty Counsel to intervene to file a brief countering this desperate attempt to keep the muzzle on our pastors.

Help us UNMUZZLE THE CHURCHES by supporting our legal fund today. Every donation will be DOUBLED in impact by our Challenge Grant.

A bit of history to understand this case. . .

For 71 long years via the Johnson Amendment, the U.S. government has put a muzzle on pastors, dictating what they may not say from the pulpit.

In 1948, Rep. Lyndon B. Johnson (D-TX) was losing his election bid to the Senate by a landslide. Six days after the polls closed, a ballot box 13 magically appeared. It was loaded with 206 ballots filed in alphabetical order, all written and signed in the exact same handwriting and ink. Those magic ballots gave Johnson the election by 87 votes.

By 1954, Johnson was seeking reelection to the Senate. But much of Texas well understood the election fraud that brought Johnson to the Senate in the first place. Churches and nonprofits refused to be silent about Johnson’s trickery, urging Texans not to vote for a corrupt man.

Johnson took revenge, creating the Johnson Amendment, which forbids 501(c)(3) organizations from engaging in political activity. This measure muzzled all charities, including churches. For the first time in American history, the U.S. government was controlling what pastors are and are not allowed to preach.

Government control over church doctrine and speech is exactly what the Founders sought to prevent. Churches have a First Amendment right to believe and preach as they see fit without government interference or approval.

Government agencies ordering churches to remain silent on certain subjects is the ultimate example of state control over the church, and exactly what the Founders warned against.

Restore Free Speech to Our Pulpits!

Back to the case. . .

In a joint motion with the plaintiffs to settle the lawsuit, the IRS agreed to view endorsements of political candidates from the pulpit as private matters, not as a form of campaigning. The IRS said that if a house of worship endorsed a candidate to its congregants, the agency would view that not as campaigning but as a private matter, like “a family discussion concerning candidates.”

In other words, the IRS has agreed to stop threatening churches when they discuss political candidates.

But atheists are trying to stop this monumental return of religious freedom.

The antireligious group Americans United for the Separation of Church and State (AU) is trying to thwart this settlement that would otherwise restore freedom of speech to our pulpits.

Oddly, the group’s name suggests they desire a separation of church and state. Yet AU's history and its current actions indicate just the opposite — they WANT the government to control churches.

AU has filed briefs asking the court to overturn the IRS settlement and keep the muzzle on pastors.

Liberty Counsel is widely recognized as the leader in defending religious liberty, including 40 wins at the U.S. Supreme Court in cases we have argued or briefed, and thousands more wins defending religious freedom in the lower courts.

In addition, as a member of the Commission on Accountability and Policy for Religious Organizations, I helped write a 91-page 2013 Senate briefing on Governmental Regulation of Political Speech by Religious and Other 501(c)(3) Organizations. Thus, we have been asked to intervene.

We are preparing our brief now, even as we are working with the White House and Congress to repeal the dreadful, punitive, vindictive, religious freedom-stealing Johnson Amendment once and for all.

But we cannot do this important work without your direct financial support. Support our legal fund today, and a special Challenge Grant will DOUBLE the impact of your gift. Every dollar you give goes 100% to program. Not a penny goes to fundraising or administration.

Mat Staver
Founder and Chairman
Liberty Counsel