Tag: monitor
Atheist Groups Rejoice Over IRS Decision to Monitor Churches. But Should They?
Posted on July 31, 2014 in Public Policy, Religious Freedom by Nathan Cherry
Good news! The IRS has agreed to start monitoring churches more closely concerning political speech. Doesn’t that make you feel safe?
Apparently a lawsuit brought against the IRS by the Freedom from Religion Foundation (FFRF) has resulted in an agreement between the atheist group and the IRS to spend more time monitoring churches. After all, we can’t have churches giving direction to their congregations about critical issues, and where candidates stand on those issues. (Alliance Defending Freedom has sent a FOIA request to the IRS asking for these new policies.)
The lawsuit was first prompted in 2009 as a result of the nationwide ‘Pulpit Freedom Sunday” campaign started by Alliance Defending Freedom. This campaign was started as an effort to challenge the unconstitutional “Johnson Amendment” that was inserted into the IRS code back in 1954. The Amendment makes it illegal for tax-exempt organizations to engage in electioneering, broadly defined as endorsing one political candidate or another.