Why Aren't More Churches Standing Up?

Topic: Education Is Key

Can the American Church legally talk about politics from the pulpit and not lose their tax-exempt status?

I get this question during our “Patriots Anonymous” discussion when I host a Biblical Citizenship class. It amazes me how many members of the clergy nationwide don’t know the answer to this, but worse yet how many of them are pushing back against people like me when we try to bring this class to the church.

Now don’t get me wrong, the church is waking up. There’s no doubt about it. One particular organization, Liberty Pastors, offers training camps to pastors regarding the topic of biblical citizenship, and they basically tripled in size when you compare their event attendance from 2022 to 2023. So good things are happening, but for those of us on the ground fighting daily to move this ball down the field, it’s apparent that there is still plenty of work to be done.

At some point during the 8-week course, most people end up having this epiphany… that if only the American church would start sharing this information with their congregations, we could Save the Republic overnight. I say this all the time during my speaking engagements - when the church in America stands up, it’s game over for the deep state.

So what gives? What is keeping the church silent? Can a church really lose their tax-exempt status if they start talking about politics from the pulpit? Is that why so many pastors don’t want to go there?

These are heavily loaded questions, but before we can answer them, it’s important to dive into the history surrounding this issue.

According to the Tax Defense Network,

The Roman Emperor Constantine (306-337) was the first to grant churches tax-exempt status in 312 AD, following his conversion to Christianity. America’s tax exemption for charities, however, can be traced to the English Statute of Charitable Uses of 1601.

Since our country’s founding, churches have been tax-exempt from federal taxes, but it wasn’t until 1894 (Tariff Act) that it became official. Although the Tariff Act was later declared unconstitutional, the church tax exemption was reinstated by the Revenue Act of 1913. Today, all 50 states and the District of Columbia exempt churches from paying income and property taxes.

Things began to change in 1954 with the adoption of the Johnson Amendment, a provision in the US tax code allowing non-profits to apply for a tax-exempt status, thus sharing the same benefit that churches had for decades. The law was brought forth by then Senator Lyndon B. Johnson as he was trying to defend his Senate seat for re-election in Texas. He had a primary challenger by the name of Dudley Dougherty, and Dudley’s campaign was being financially supported by a non-profit organization. So in a slick political move, Lyndon Johnson introduced a change to the tax code that would prohibit non-profits from supporting political candidates verbally and financially so that he could defeat Dudley and keep his Senate seat. What a shocker… a politician passing a law to protect his own self interests.

Lesson learned… politicians ALWAYS have an agenda with pretty much every move they make.

Back to the 501c3 status question…

The change in the tax code enabled non-profits to receive a tax-exempt status (501c3) while at the same time giving their donors a tax advantage allowing for the contributor to receive a tax deduction in direct proportion to their donation. Churches jumped on the bandwagon so that their congregation could use their tithes and offerings as tax deductions, thereby muzzling themselves all for financial gain. I’m not suggesting or implying that all churches did this with a malicious or greedy intent, but history has certainly shown us the negative impact resulting from churches becoming 501c3s.

So can the church lose it’s 501c3 status?

In theory, yes… although not a single church ever has, and even if they do, they are still tax-exempt. The IRS hasn’t even bothered to haul a church into court over this issue for fear of setting a legal precedent that would not favor the agency itself.

What’s really at risk for the church is their ability to give tax deductions to their tithers, as that would be the ramification of losing the 501c3 status. The fear is that those congregants will no longer contribute to the church if they cannot write the donation off resulting in the church losing money. However, the church would still remain tax-exempt even without the 501c3 label.

So is your Pastor staying silent on these critical issues out of fear or just plain ignorance? Either way, it’s time for a change. A great question to ask any Pastor who may be mis-informed or scared is this, “So, tell me what other areas of your life Jesus is not Lord over.”

If I were in a pastor’s shoes, I can imagine it might be difficult to take a stand and risk losing the benefits that the 501c3 filing carries, but at the same time, if the church doesn’t stand up now, America will never survive. Preaching to a congregation in regards to what the bible says about civil government is an essential part of Saving the Republic. Even a cursory review of Nazi Germany will show you that the churches stayed silent when they found out what was really happening in Hitler’s concentration camps, and as a result, six million Jews were killed. We CANNOT’ let that happen in America.

Encourage your Pastor to attend this event being held in Hershey, Pennsylvania during the first week of November called Liberty Pastors Training Camp. They won’t regret it, and it will equip them with the vital tools that they need to join us in our fight to Save the Republic.

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