Kentucky Gov. To Churches: Ignore Federal Politicking Ban

Tax-exempt churches are legally banned from endorsing political candidates, but that did not stop Republican Gov. Matt Bevin of Kentucky from encouraging a group of ministers to disregard the federal rule and speak their minds anyway.

“There is no reason to fear it; there is no reason to be silent,” the governor told the group in September during an invitation-only gathering at his mansion, according to CBS News. “And that we have been exhorted and encouraged to have this boldness and this spirit, to be unapologetic, and I would encourage you to do it.”

Bevin was referring to the 1954 law, commonly known as the Johnson Amendment, which says that churches and all other tax-exempt organizations may not legally partake in any “political campaign on behalf of any candidate for public office.”

Tax-exempt churches are permitted to speak in favor of or in opposition to causes but are not allowed to endorse or denounce particular candidates or political parties.

WFPL-FM, a news station from Louisville, Kentucky, first reported Bevin’s comments, in which he called the federal law a “paper tiger” and said that no church has ever lost their tax-exempt status for breaking it by politicking, after obtaining unreleased footage from an organization called Kentuckians Against Matt Bevin.

Bevin has not addressed his words, although his spokeswoman said that he “simply encouraged the ministers to preach boldly.”

Organizations like Americans United for the Separation of Church and State have filed many complaints to the Internal Revenue Service regarding violations of this law, though it is rare for it to actually result in revocation of churches’ tax-exempt statuses.

“The majority of Americans – including the devout – oppose making houses of worship centers of partisan politics,” wrote the organization in an attempt to have the law more strictly enforced. “Pulpit politicking threatens to divide faith communities and erode the important boundary between church and state that make each distinct. It’s a bad deal all around.”

The Kentucky governor is currently under investigation for reportedly stopping a construction project in retaliation against a Democratic state representative, notes the Courier-Journal.

Sources: CBS News, Courier-Journal / Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore/Flickr