Pastors Prepare to Challenge Politics from the Pulpit Law

Pastors are lining up to defy Internal Revenue Service rules against their speaking out on elections as October 7, Pulpit Freedom Sunday, approaches.

The purpose is to make sure the pastor, not the IRS, decides what is said from the pulpit. Alliance Defending Freedom attorney Erik Stanley tells OneNewsNow that this more of a problem than people realize.

"A lot of people may not realize it, but since 1954, the IRS has inserted itself into the process of what is said from the pulpit and has punished and threatened to punish churches for something the pastor says that may issue support or opposition for one candidate or another," he explains.

That stems from the Johnson Amendment attached to legislation by then-Sen. Lyndon Johnson (D) of Texas to silence conservative pastors and non-profit groups that would oppose him.