The Johnson Amendment, embedded in the Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3) in 1954, is a restriction on tax-exempt organizations, particularly churches, prohibiting them from endorsing or opposing political candidates. Pushed by Democrat Lyndon B. Johnson, it’s a blunt tool to crush conservative voices, threatening to end tax-exempt status from any church daring to use its platform, funds, or facilities to affect elections. For seven decades, it has worked, silencing bold pulpits that once fueled America’s founding and the abolitionist movement. Democrats wielded this law to scare conservative pastors into submission, while progressive churches, especially some Black ones, openly back leftist candidates with no consequence. The IRS’ selective enforcement exposes the truth: this law was built to muzzle conservatives.
On July 7, the IRS, pressured by a lawsuit from two Texas churches and the National Religious Broadcasters Association, announced that churches can now endorse candidates from the pulpit during services without risking their tax-exempt status. Don’t cheer yet—this isn’t freedom. The Johnson Amendment still exists in the U.S. Code, a loaded gun waiting for the next trigger-happy Democrat. This IRS move is no repeal; it’s a flimsy exemption, a bureaucratic head-fake that could vanish with one executive order from a leftist president. Republicans, masters at fumbling power, could easily hand the reins to Democrats in 2026 or 2028. God forbid, but the truth is, a future Democrat administration will eventually come, and when it does, this “liberty” will be snuffed out like a candle in the wind. I’m not cynical—I’m furious. We’re trained to grovel for these scraps, but I’m done clapping for crumbs when we could easily torch this 70-year-old travesty. This isn’t a win; it’s a mirage, ready to dissolve the second the political tide turns.
As a pastor and former political candidate, I’ve felt the strong arm of the IRS. Audits withheld overpayments until they were thoroughly investigated— they’ve hounded me for years because of my political engagement, though I never used my church ministry as a soapbox. Meanwhile, progressive churches funnel cash and clout to leftist campaigns, and the IRS looks the other way. That’s not oversight; it’s oppression. This ruling doesn’t erase that injustice. Timid pastors, cowed by decades of fear, won’t suddenly roar—caution is burned into their souls. We can’t trust this reprieve. We need to burn the Johnson Amendment to the ground.
This IRS dodge deserves suspicion, not applause. An agency cherry-picking which laws to enforce isn’t your friend—it’s a fickle tyrant. The IRS admits it rarely enforces this law against churches, suggesting that this “concession” is as solid as smoke. Why bet our freedom on a bureaucracy’s mood swings? Only a full congressional repeal will do. Churches must boldly unite, fiercely oppose this amendment, and drive a relentless campaign for transformative change, as they did in forging America’s moral foundation centuries ago—no more accepting weak compromises.
Congressman Mark Harris’s (NC) Freedom of Speech Fairness Act is our weapon. It would gut the Johnson Amendment’s stranglehold on religious speech. Republicans, addicted to premature victory laps, can’t flinch now. They’re infamous for spiking the ball at midfield. Pass Harris’s bill, send it to the President, and codify religious liberty into law. A fleeting IRS nod isn’t peace—it’s a trap.
Pastors and Christians, stop whispering—roar like the free people you are. This is America, a republic, if you can keep it. Act like it. Demand that Congress pass the Freedom of Speech Fairness Act. Let our voices thunder, not as a borrowed privilege, but as a right carved in stone. Burn the Johnson Amendment down, and let liberty blaze.
