ADF: Scare tactics shouldn't muzzle Mo. pastors on controversial issues

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Alliance Defending Freedom has sent Missouri pastors a letter to debunk critics who have wrongly asserted that churches can lose their tax-exempt status if they urge their congregations to vote in favor of repealing a city law.

After Pastor John Lindell of James River Church in Springfield urged his congregation from the pulpit to vote in favor of repealing additions the city made to its public accommodations law because of the risks they pose to personal privacy and religious freedom, critics claimed his church’s tax-exempt status would be in jeopardy. Not so, says the ADF letter.

“Pastors and churches shouldn’t live in fear of being punished or penalized by the government when they express fundamental tenets of their faith,” said ADF Litigation Counsel Christiana Holcomb. “They are free to talk about important social and cultural issues without fear of having their tax-exempt status revoked. Anyone who claims otherwise simply doesn’t understand the law.”

“You did not surrender your First Amendment freedoms by entering the pastorate, nor do you endanger your church’s tax-exempt status by engaging on civic issues,” the ADF letter states. “No church – in any reported case to date – has lost its 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status due to political activity. But despite this fact, misconceptions concerning IRS restrictions on political activity abound.”

As the letter goes on to explain, “Federal law does not prohibit pastors from urging their congregants or their elected officials to support or oppose referenda, ballot initiatives, legislative bills, or proposed ordinances. The IRS simply limits churches to spending no more than an ‘insubstantial’ amount of their resources on lobbying. An ‘insubstantial’ amount is generally considered to be from five to 15 percent of a church’s time and funds in any given year.”

“Pastors should be able to speak truth into every area of life without fear or intimidation,” added ADF Senior Legal Counsel Erik Stanley. “Pastors are called to equip their congregations with the truth about many areas of life and why they matter for families, children, and society. They should not be silenced by those who are either uninformed or who misstate the law.”

Alliance Defending Freedom is an alliance-building, non-profit legal organization that advocates for the right of people to freely live out their faith.