Blurring the Divide Between Church and State - The repeal of the Johnson Amendment has the potential
President Donald Trump has stated on two separate occasions his desire to repeal the Johnson Amendment. The first time was on the campaign this summer, the most recent was at the National Prayer Breakfast in which he explained,
It is clear Trump is using this rhetoric to appeal to religious conservative right wing base. Proponents of the repeal claim that it is for the purpose of defending free speech. However, dissolving the language in the bill will turn churches into political fundraising machines. It seems as though, Trump is just echoing the religious right’s propaganda with little understanding of the ramifications it will have on not just political fundraising but the integrity and longevity of the non religious non profit sector.
The religious right is vying for greater influence in the political sphere by blurring the division between church and state. Religious institutions would replace Super PACs and other fundraising platforms. Moreover, it will give this faction the opportunity to electioneer and receive tax deductibles. Time Magazine reports that repeal of the Johnson Amendment
Trump and the religious right will utilize the repeal as an election mechanism without understanding the repercussions it will have on the non faith based non profit sector. The Alliance for Defending Free Speech organizes annually Pulpit Freedom Sunday which spurs political sermons from religious leaders in “defiance of the law.” This organization believes that the Johnson Amendment censors the content preached in religious spaces, reiterating that they cannot speak about political issues without “fear” of dispossessing their tax exempt status.
The Johnson Amendment was enacted in 1954 by then Senator Lyndon B. Johnson. It was passed in a Republican majority Congress and faced little opposition. The first tax deduction recognition policy instituted by Congress for for charitable entities was in 1917. However, in 1934 it was altered in which language was added,
The Johnson Amendment clarified the considerably "vague" wording. However, it is clear that Johnson had some selfish motives in regards to maintaining is incumbency as a Texas Senator. The Amendment has ultimately become an axiom of the Separation of Church and State legislation in the United States.
Opponents of the proposed repeal include the majority of the secular non profit organizations. Non profits also known as 501 (c)(3) organizations are involved in issue "advocacy " however do not support or contribute financially support potential political candidates. An outspoken adversary and President of Independent Sector believes that the Johnson Amendment
Thus, it is apparent the implementation of a repeal will potentially downgrade the integrity of secular non profit organizations that embrace their non political missions and identities. There is even possibility that organizations will lose funding because of increased competition with the faith based non profits or returning donations will halt due because of political leanings that were previously prohibited. The Non Profit Quarterly denounces Trump’s mission claiming that repealing Amendment would,
It is evident that the secular non profit sector is fearful of its influence and sustenance if such repeal is enacted.
Luckily, even if the repeal is enacted, there may be limits in regards to the ability of 501 (c)(3) for political fundraising. For instance, the Supreme Court has ruled that non profits,
therefore the proposed repeal would be meaningless to Donald, seeing that it would not contribute to his next Presidential campaign’s donations. Moreover, 501 (c)(4)s already give funds to Super PACs in order to contribute to campaigns anonymously. Thus, would appeal to Congress seeing that they would not lose revenue from increased tax exemptions. Next, the IRS rarely if at all enforces political speech among clerics, the Washington Post reported,
Evidence shows that political speech in the pulpit is not heavily monitored nor enforced.
Donald Trump and the religious right should focus on other pressing issues seeing that this could be a potentially losing battle.
References
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/08/how-trump-is-trying-to-put-more-money-in-politics/493823/
http://www.usnews.com/opinion/debate-club/articles/2017-02-10/is-repealing-the-johnson-amendment-a-good-idea
http://www.forbes.com/sites/beltway/2017/02/09/what-could-churches-really-do-if-trump-convinced-congress-to-repeal-the-johnson-amendment/#4e5f885123eb
https://trust.guidestar.org/perspectives-on-the-johnson-amendment?utm_campaign=GuideStar+Newsletter+-+Researchers+and+Media&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=42750102&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_pd_Q38PcBg8t8YIrdIbZaTch2Lsb-ZOVsF4OWnLiAB1x_hWdPgvK50oOt9TRlWKK_d0VOSL2lNmB91mvIIx7kib0NVg&_hsmi=42750102
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/why-trump-keeps-focusing-the-johnson-amendment
https://nonprofitquarterly.org/2017/02/06/losing-johnson-amendment-destroy-unique-political-role-nonprofits/
http://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2017/2/6/the-biggest-loser-from-repealing-the-johnson-amendment-wouldnt-be-the-democrats-it-would-be-philanthropy
http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/2/2/14484800/johnson-amendment-explained-repeal-national-prayer-breakfast
http://time.com/4406567/republican-platform-johnson-amendment-churches-political-organizing/
http://www.npr.org/2017/02/03/513187940/the-johnson-amendment-in-five-questions-and-answers