Christianist Groups To Gather To Defy IRS Rules On Political Activism

The anti-gay Alliance Defense Fund is organizing a meeting of about 100 pastors who will preach "biblical perspectives on the positions of electoral candidates or current government officials" in defiance of IRS rules against such activism by tax-exempt religious organizations.

Pulpit Freedom Sunday is an event associated with the ADF Pulpit Initiative, a legal effort designed to secure the First Amendment rights of pastors in the pulpit. The Pulpit Initiative is part of the larger ADF Church Project. Participating pastors preaching on Pulpit Freedom Sunday will address the subject of current candidates for office, including the positions held by those candidates, in light of Scripture. “Pastors and churches shouldn’t live in fear of being punished or penalized by the government—in this case, the IRS,” said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Erik Stanley. “ADF is not trying to get politics into the pulpit; we want to get government out of the pulpit. Churches should be allowed to decide for themselves what they want to talk about. The IRS should not be the one making the decision by threatening to revoke a church’s tax-exempt status.”

The ADF is hoping to force the courts to address the constitutionality of the 1954 law.