IRS Says Churches Can Endorse Candidates During Services Without Losing Tax-Exempt Status
The Johnson Amendment is dead in practice, and the separation of church and state is weaker than ever.
On July 8, 2025, the IRS announced that churches are now explicitly allowed to endorse or oppose political candidates during religious services to their congregants, without risking their tax‑exempt status.
At first glance, this might seem like a dramatic departure from the Johnson Amendment, a federal ban on partisan electoral politics by 501(c)(3) nonprofits that has been on the books since 1954. But in truth, this isn’t a radical shift. It’s the IRS simply admitting what it has tolerated for decades.
What makes this move so corrosive isn’t just that it codifies lawlessness, but that it applies only to churches, granting them a privilege no secular nonprofit enjoys. That privilege continues to erode the already‑fragile boundary between church and state.
And when pastors use their pulpits not to uplift the marginalized, as their scriptures command, but to mock the “woke,” denigrate minorities, or endorse anti‑democracy candidates, the hypocrisy becomes impossible to ignore.
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Unfair Carve‑Out & Church–State Erosion
In its official statement, the IRS claimed that “when a house of worship in good faith speaks to its congregation, through its customary channels of communication on matters of faith in connection with religious services, concerning electoral politics viewed through the lens of religious faith, it neither ‘participate(s)’ nor ‘intervene(s)’ in a ‘political campaign,’ within the ordinary meaning of those words.”
It went on to assure that “communications from a house of worship to its congregation in connection with religious services … do not run afoul of the Johnson Amendment as properly interpreted.”
The agency likened political endorsements during services to a harmless “family discussion,” as though these taxpayer-funded platforms were neutral dinner tables rather than partisan megaphones.
But this reasoning grants churches a unique, government‑subsidized license to engage in partisan politics, something explicitly denied to secular charities, libraries, arts organizations, and advocacy groups. Worse, it undermines the principle of separation of church and state, sending a clear message: faith receives special treatment, while everyone else is subject to the rules.
Historical Context
While some were surprised by the IRS’s announcement, the reality is that it merely codifies the status quo.
Since the Johnson Amendment was passed in 1954, only one church, Branch Ministries in 1992, has ever lost its tax‑exempt status, and that was for running paid newspaper ads explicitly opposing Bill Clinton. Thousands of churches have openly endorsed candidates from the pulpit since then, without consequence. Secular nonprofits have occasionally received warning letters for issue-advocacy campaigns that appeared political, but never had their tax-exempt status revoked.
Following the 2013–2017 IRS “targeting” scandal, the agency became even more cautious, abandoning enforcement efforts almost entirely.
Far from a sudden shift, this new policy acknowledges that the IRS has given up enforcing the law, and now grants religious organizations formal permission to continue breaking it.
The Johnson Amendment has been on the books for 70 years, but it has only been enforced once. The rest of the time, the IRS has looked the other way. With churches now granted explicit permission to break it during services, it's clear: the law has been dead letter for decades.
As a federal court put it in 2000 when Branch Ministries challenged their penalty: “Even inconsistent enforcement doesn’t make the rule invalid.”
But imagine applying that same logic elsewhere, for example, to police deciding whom to arrest based on whim, or to workplace discrimination laws enforced against only one unlucky company. That isn’t justice. That isn’t democracy. That’s arbitrary power, dressed up as law.
Disney & Secular Nonprofits vs. Churches
The IRS’s carve‑out for churches also reveals a staggering double standard.
While churches openly endorse candidates, now with explicit blessings from the IRS, secular nonprofits and even corporations engaged in broad social advocacy are routinely vilified as “too political” or “woke” for merely supporting inclusion and fairness.
Take Disney, for example. Over the past few years, conservative politicians and pundits have criticized the company for its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives, calling for boycotts and even government investigations. Florida lawmakers stripped Disney of special tax privileges after it opposed the state’s “Don’t Say Gay” law. Right‑wing advocacy groups and shareholders pressured the company to abandon DEI programs, accusing it of partisanship. Federal agencies were even petitioned to investigate Disney’s nonprofit donations and corporate policies for potential political bias.
Yet, Disney and countless other secular organizations have neither endorsed nor opposed any candidate. They advocate for general principles of inclusion, fairness, and equality.
We live in a country where a corporation can face investigations, boycotts, and legal challenges for simply stating that everyone deserves a seat at the table, but a church can use public money to endorse a candidate from the pulpit and be congratulated for it. That’s not fairness. That’s privilege masquerading as principle.
The Jack Hibbs Story
If you want to see how this policy looks in the real world, just watch Pastor Jack Hibbs of Calvary Chapel Chino Hills, a California mega‑church with over 10,000 congregants and thousands more online.
Ahead of the March 2024 U.S. Senate primary, Hibbs stood at his pulpit and declared: “I want to publicly, right now today, encourage all of you to vote for Steve Garvey.”
Then, with a knowing smile, he added: “I just remembered, it’s against the law for me to say that in the pulpit… so as a private citizen, I encourage you to vote for Steve Garvey.”
It was a cynical wink to the camera. Hibbs knew he wasn’t supposed to do it, but he also knew the IRS wouldn’t stop him. And he was right.
Despite his open mockery of the Johnson Amendment, Hibbs faced no investigation, no fine, no loss of tax‑exempt status.
If there were ever a case study for how meaningless the Johnson Amendment has become, it’s Jack Hibbs, laughing as he violates the law, preaching politics from the pulpit, and daring anyone to stop him. And now, thanks to the IRS, no one will.
If Anyone Should Preach Inclusion, It Should Be the Church
The cruelest irony is this: if any institution in our society should be leading the charge for fairness, inclusion, and protection of the vulnerable, it should be the church.
The very scriptures pastors quote command them to care for the poor, welcome the stranger, and speak truth to power. “Whatever you did for the least of these, you did for me.” (Matthew 25:40) “Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor.” (Zechariah 7:10)
Yet today, too many churches use their taxpayer‑funded platforms not to uplift the marginalized but to attack them, not to challenge power but to serve it, not to preach love and justice but to rail against the “woke” and endorse the powerful.
Meanwhile, secular nonprofits advocating diversity and inclusion are smeared as “too political,” threatened with investigations, and pressured to stay silent.
When churches abandon their calling to serve power instead of people, and our government rewards them for it, we all lose, not just our democracy, but also the moral witness of institutions that once stood for something higher.
The Bigger Picture: IRS Resource Cuts & Failure to Enforce Fairly
So, why hasn’t the IRS taken action? Because it’s been systematically gutted for more than a decade.
Since 2010, Congress has slashed the IRS’s budget by roughly 20 percent in real dollars. Its enforcement staff has shrunk by tens of thousands, and the Exempt Organizations division, which oversees nonprofits, has been reduced to near‑irrelevance. Recent policies and the budget have made this worse. OBBB’s tax cuts enriched the already wealthy. Meanwhile, DOGE’s ‘efficiency’ agenda gutted the IRS’s ability to enforce the law. The result is a government too weak to collect what’s owed and too stingy to help those in need. It’s not efficiency; it’s inequality by design.
See our previous reporting on the gutting of the IRS here:
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Today, the IRS audits poor families claiming the Earned Income Tax Credit at higher rates than millionaires. Audit rates for the top 1% have declined by approximately 75% since 2011. The wealthiest Americans dodge an estimated $160–$ 200 billion per year in taxes, while the agency looks the other way.
We’ve let the tax cops walk off the job, and the only ones who benefit are the billionaires and big corporations. Rebuilding the IRS isn’t about squeezing working families. It’s about making sure the richest pay what they owe, just like the rest of us.
We’ve built a tax system where the poor get audited, the rich get away with billions, and churches are now officially free to campaign from the pulpit. That isn’t just a broken system; it’s a rigged one.
What You Can Do
The IRS may have surrendered its responsibility, but we don’t have to.
Call Congress
(202) 224‑3121
Sample Script:
“Hello, my name is [Your Name], and I’m a constituent from [City, State]. I’m calling to urge [Senator/Representative] to fully fund the IRS so it can enforce the entire tax code including the Johnson Amendment fairly and equally for all. We must protect the separation of church and state and stop subsidizing partisan politics from the pulpit, and subject all tax payers to the same rules. Thank you.”
Support Grassroots Organizations
Americans United for Separation of Church and State (au.org)
Freedom From Religion Foundation (ffrf.org)
Public Citizen (citizen.org)
Show Up
Write op‑eds, attend local meetings, and join peaceful protests. When the public demands accountability, it becomes harder to ignore.
Democracy only works when the rules apply equally to everyone, not just those with the loudest pulpits. Let’s demand better.
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Bibliography:
“A Surprise IRS Move on Political Endorsements Leaves Faith Leaders and Legal Experts Divided.” AP News, July 8, 2025.
Chamberlain, Dale. “Pastor Jack Hibbs Endorses Steve Garvey for Senate from Pulpit in Apparent Violation of U.S. Tax Code.” ChurchLeaders.com, February 28, 2024.
Garofoli, Joe. “The IRS Says Churches Can Now Endorse Candidates. In California, Some Already Do.” San Francisco Chronicle, July 2025.
IRS. Depletion of IRS Enforcement Is Undermining the Tax Code. Washington, DC: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, June 2018.
“IRS Says Churches Can Endorse Political Candidates to Congregations.” Reuters, July 8, 2025.
“IRS Moves to Allow Political Engagement from Churches, in a Win for Evangelical Groups.” Politico, July 8, 2025.
“FCC Opening Probe into Disney and ABC over DEI Practices.” Reuters, March 28, 2025.
“Trumpworld Loves This Fringe Pastor Who Bullies LGBTQ Teachers.” Yahoo News – New Zealand, July 2025.
Taxpayer Advocate Service. Annual Report to Congress, 2013. Washington, DC: IRS, 2013.
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Hmm, now will they pay taxes?
This makes churches more polarized and more racially segregated than ever.