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Trump Vows to ‘Destroy’ Law Banning Political Activity by Churches Trump Vows to ‘Destroy’ Law Banning Political Endorsements by Churches
(about 11 hours later)
WASHINGTON — President Trump vowed Thursday to overturn a law restricting political speech by tax-exempt churches, a potentially huge victory for the religious right and a gesture to his political base. WASHINGTON — President Trump vowed on Thursday to overturn a law restricting political speech by tax-exempt churches, a potentially huge victory for the religious right and a gesture to evangelicals, a voting bloc he attracted to his campaign by promising to free up their pulpits.
Mr. Trump said his administration would “totally destroy” the Johnson Amendment, which prohibits churches from engaging in political activity at the risk of losing their tax-exempt status. Mr. Trump said his administration would “totally destroy” the Johnson Amendment, a 1954 law that prohibits churches from endorsing or opposing political candidates at the risk of losing their tax-exempt status.
Repealing the law would require approval by Congress. Certain tax-exempt organizations — in this case, churches — are not allowed to openly endorse or campaign for political candidates. If they do, under existing law, they risk losing the benefits of their tax-exempt status. “Freedom of religion is a sacred right, but it is also a right under threat all around us,” Mr. Trump told religious leaders at the National Prayer Breakfast. “That is why I will get rid of and totally destroy the Johnson Amendment and allow our representatives of faith to speak freely and without fear of retribution.”
Speaking to a gathering of religious leaders, the president also defended his immigration policy, brushed aside concern about his harsh phone calls with foreign leaders, and ridiculed Arnold Schwarzenegger for his poor ratings in replacing Mr. Trump as host of “Celebrity Apprentice.” Repealing the law would require approval by Congress, which could prove challenging given that Democrats, and even some Republicans, would resist what many view as an erosion of the separation between church and state.
He did not mention an executive order on religious freedom, which critics said would restrict the rights of lesbians and gay men; a draft of the order has circulated, but administration officials have denied that it will be adopted. Still, Mr. Trump’s promise to repeal the law fulfills a campaign promise — one that became a centerpiece of his effort to mollify the religious right, which was slow to warm to his insurgent candidacy. Eliminating the measure has been a goal of many social conservatives, who argue that it unfairly restricts clergy members from expressing themselves by endorsing — or speaking out against — political candidates.
In addressing the issue of churches and political speech, Mr. Trump said, “I will get rid of and totally destroy the Johnson Amendment and allow our representatives of faith to speak freely and without fear of retribution.” Many see government persecution in limits on their official religious activities at work, and complain that the Internal Revenue Service — an agency that the right views with a special ire — singles out churches dominated by Christian conservatives.
He added that “freedom of religion is a sacred right, but it is under serious threat.” It was one of several checklist items that religious conservative leaders told Mr. Trump was important to them. And they reacted with delight at his announcement.
During his presidential campaign, Mr. Trump promised to push for repeal of the law, which was passed in 1954 and named for then-Senator Lyndon B. Johnson of Texas, who proposed the change to the tax code. “Americans don’t need a federal tax agency to be the speech police of churches or any other nonprofit groups, who have a constitutionally protected freedom to decide for themselves what they want to say or not say,” said Erik Stanley, senior counsel for the Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative Christian legal defense group that has opposed the Johnson Amendment.
Mr. Trump also went off topic in his address to the National Prayer Breakfast. He told the audience not to worry about reports that he had held tempestuous phone calls with the leaders of allies Australia and Mexico, saying a tough approach was long overdue. Tony Perkins, the president of the Family Research Council, a conservative Christian group, called Mr. Trump’s pledge “outstanding — right on target.”
“When you hear about the tough phone calls, don’t worry,” he said. “We’re being taken advantage of by countries around the world. It’s time for us to be a little tough. It’s not going to happen anymore.” “Pastors should be held accountable to God alone for what they say behind the pulpit, not the I.R.S.,” he said.
Mr. Trump also needled Mr. Schwarzenegger, the former governor of California, for failing to maintain his ratings as the new host of “Celebrity Apprentice.” “We know how that turned out,” he said. “The ratings went down the tubes.” Many clergy members, however, say they see no reason to lift the prohibition, because making political endorsements could divide their congregations. They say the law in effect shields them from pressure by advocacy groups and politically active congregants to make endorsements.
“I want to just pray for Arnold, for those ratings,” he said. “It would usher our partisan divisions into the pews,” said Amanda Tyler, the executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, a group that advocates a strict separation of church and state.
The president spent much of his speech defending the visa ban on citizens from seven predominantly Muslim countries, which caused chaos at airports and set off protests across the country. Few Americans had even heard of the Johnson Amendment when Mr. Trump turned it into a rallying cry during the campaign. He told a crowd at the Iowa fairgrounds last August, “It denies your pastors their right to free speech, and has had a huge negative impact on religion.”
“Terrorism is a fundamental threat to religious freedom,” he declared. “It must be stopped and it will be stopped.” No one lobbied Mr. Trump to make the amendment an issue, said Johnnie Moore, a Christian publicist who serves on the president’s evangelical advisory board. He said Mr. Trump himself fixed on it in his first campaign meeting with the board members last June at Trump Tower.
The president described “peace-loving Muslims” who had been killed by jihadi fighters aligned with the Islamic State, as well as a campaign of genocide against Christians in the Middle East. Extremists, he said, took advantage of the “generosity” of Americans to undermine the nation’s safety. Mr. Trump asked them why they did not have the courage to speak out more during elections. When the pastors informed him they could lose their tax-exempt status, Mr. Trump declared the law unfair.
“My administration will do everything in its power to defend religious liberty,” he said. “We have to feel safe and secure.” In meetings since then between Mr. Trump and pastors, whether in public or private, Mr. Moore said, Mr. Trump consistently says, “Everybody in this country has freedom of speech, except for you.”
Mr. Trump talked about the influence of faith in his own life, referring to the family Bible, which was used when he took the oath of office at his inauguration. His mother, he said, read to him from that Bible during his childhood. Churches and clergy members are free to speak out on political and social issues — and many do — but the Johnson Amendment was intended to inhibit them from endorsing or opposing political candidates.
Separately, the Free Speech Fairness Act was introduced in the House and the Senate on Wednesday. The bill would modify the Johnson Amendment by allowing churches and other charities to engage in political expression.
However, most Americans — and even most clergy members — say they do not want churches and houses of worship to engage in partisan politics. Nearly 80 percent of Americans said it was inappropriate for pastors to endorse a candidate in church, and 75 percent said churches should not make endorsements, according to a survey released in September by LifeWay Research, an evangelical polling group based in Nashville.
Moreover, 87 percent of pastors said they should not make political endorsements from the pulpit, according to a LifeWay survey conducted in 2012 of pastors in evangelical and mainline Protestant churches. (Clergy members who were Republicans were slightly more in favor of endorsements than those who were Democrats or independents.)
Pastors and churches that endorsed candidates have seemed to have little to fear from the I.R.S. The overburdened agency has little capacity to investigate every report of a violation — and there have been many.
But only one church is known to have ever lost its tax-exempt status for partisan politicking, and that was in 1995, those on all sides said. It is impossible to know how many churches the I.R.S. has investigated. The agency does not make public when it investigates a church for violations, and an I.R.S. spokesman declined to answer questions related to the Johnson Amendment on Thursday.
For years, pastors have openly defied the law on “Pulpit Freedom Sunday,” organized by the Alliance Defending Freedom. Many participating pastors sent their sermons to the I.R.S. afterward.
Watchdog groups like Americans United for Separation of Church and State and the Freedom From Religion Foundation have occasionally reported violators to the I.R.S. and have regularly sent warning letters to pastors before elections reminding them of the law.
In a freewheeling speech at the National Prayer Breakfast, the president defended his immigration policy, brushed aside concern about his harsh phone calls with foreign leaders and ridiculed Arnold Schwarzenegger for his poor ratings in replacing him as host of “The Celebrity Apprentice.”
He did not mention any potential executive order on religious freedom, which critics said would restrict the rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and transgender people; a draft has circulated, but administration officials have denied that it will be adopted.
Mr. Trump talked about the influence of faith in his life, referring to the family Bible, which was used when he took the oath of office. His mother, he said, read to him from that Bible during his childhood.
“America is a nation of believers,” he said. “The quality of our lives is not defined by our material success, but by our spiritual success.”“America is a nation of believers,” he said. “The quality of our lives is not defined by our material success, but by our spiritual success.”
“I tell you that as someone who has had material success,” he added, before noting that many rich people are “very miserable, unhappy people.”“I tell you that as someone who has had material success,” he added, before noting that many rich people are “very miserable, unhappy people.”
The breakfast featured the usual menu of homilies and testimonials to the power of faith. But the proceedings took a show-business turn when Mark Burnett, the Hollywood producer, stepped to the podium to introduce the president. Mr. Burnett recalled the influence Mr. Trump’s book, “The Art of the Deal,” had on him as a recently arrived immigrant. He later produced “Celebrity Apprentice” as a reality television vehicle for Mr. Trump. The breakfast with religious leaders featured the usual homilies and testimonials to the power of faith. But the proceedings took a show-business turn when Mark Burnett, the Hollywood producer, stepped to the podium to introduce the president.
The president led his remarks with an extended reminiscence about the show, recalling that he fired his agent after the agent rejected Mr. Burnett’s pitch for the program. “I actually got on the phone and fired him myself,” Mr. Trump said with a smile. Mr. Burnett recalled the influence Mr. Trump’s book “The Art of the Deal” had on him as a recently arrived immigrant from Britain. He later produced “The Apprentice” as a reality television vehicle for Mr. Trump.
The president opened his remarks with an extended reminiscence about the show, recalling that he fired his agent who had rejected Mr. Burnett’s pitch for the program. He also needled Mr. Schwarzenegger, the former governor of California, for failing to maintain his ratings. “We know how that turned out,” Mr. Trump said. “The ratings went down the tubes.”
“I want to just pray for Arnold, for those ratings,” he said.