You have probably heard by now that the Freedom From Religion Foundation has asked the IRS to monitor churches and evaluate the sermons of pastors. At the moment, we don’t know how the IRS plans to target pastors and churches. However they target these churches, they are certain to hear lots of sermons that address political issues.
October 5 is when the annual “Pulpit Freedom Sunday” takes place. Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) has organized this event each year. They encourage pastors to preach a sermon that deals with public policy and politics. Then they encourage them to send a copy to the IRS. The ADF wants a test case to challenge a 1954 IRS regulation that has been used to muzzle pastors and churches.
The amendment to the federal tax code was added by Senator Lyndon Johnson. He was running for reelection and wanted to prevent outside groups (not churches) from interfering in his campaign. The amendment prevents a 501(c)(3) organization from participating in any political campaign. Over the years, it has been used to intimidate pastors and prevent them from addressing any political issue from the pulpit.
The latest revelations in the IRS scandal provide an insight into what some IRS officials think about conservative political groups and religious organizations. Lois Lerner, a former IRS official who has been under investigation, called conservatives and tea party groups all sorts of names (most of which I cannot mention here). We shouldn’t be surprised that the IRS is now admitting that churches may be on their target list.
The Alliance Defending Freedom is ready for the IRS to “bring it on.” For years, they have been looking for a test case. If the IRS cites one of the pastors preaching this October, then the pastor and the ADF lawyers will have standing and can pursue a case against the IRS.
Meanwhile the ADF has also filed a Freedom of Information Act request to learn the details of the IRS agreement with the Freedom from Religion Foundation. That information might be as revealing as the emails from Lois Lerner.