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Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life

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During every election cycle, many reli­gious congre­ga­tions find them­selves wondering what role, if any, they can play in the political process. Can a minister, rabbi, imam or other member of the clergy endorse a candidate from the pulpit or speak on political issues of interest to voters? Is a church or other house of worship legally permitted to register voters or distribute voter guides? Answers to these and many other ques­tions are contained in this guide.

The guide sets out in plain English the rules governing political activity that apply to nonprofit orga­ni­za­tions (including churches and other reli­gious groups) that are exempt from taxation under section 501©(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. The 2012 edition of the guide updates versions published by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life in 2002, 2004 and 2008. The original report was written by Deirdre Dessingue, asso­ciate general counsel of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and a leading expert on the taxation of reli­gious orga­ni­za­tions. The latest edition of the guide has been vetted by a number of other prominent legal experts in this field.

See also the 2008 and 2004 editions of this publication.

The current rules have been in place since 1954, when Congress amended the Internal Revenue Code to impose limits on the political activ­ities of reli­gious groups and certain other tax-exempt nonprofit orga­ni­za­tions. In recent years, some have voiced strong oppo­sition to these limits, espe­cially as they are applied to reli­gious groups, arguing that they amount to an unfair abridgement of free speech. Indeed, since 2008, the conser­v­ative Christian advocacy group Alliance Defending Freedom (formerly the Alliance Defense Fund) has orga­nized Pulpit Freedom Sunday, a date on which the group encourages pastors to speak out on election-related issues.¹ Others, including some reli­gious leaders, have vigor­ously defended the Internal Revenue Code rules, asserting that they correctly prevent churches from getting too deeply involved in partisan politics.

The Pew Forum takes no position in this or any other policy debate. The Pew Forum commis­sioned this publi­cation solely to better inform reli­gious groups and others on the provi­sions and meaning of the law as it is currently written. The Pew Forum’s overall mission is to deliver timely, impartial infor­mation on issues at the inter­section of religion and public affairs.

“Preaching Politics From the Pulpit” is published with the under­standing that the Pew Forum is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting or other profes­sional advice. If legal advice or other profes­sional assis­tance is required, the services of a qual­ified profes­sional should be sought.

Note: Throughout this document, the term “churches” refers to churches, syna­gogues, temples, mosques and other reli­gious congre­ga­tions. The term “reli­gious orga­ni­za­tions” has a broader meaning, including both churches and other types of reli­gious orga­ni­za­tions that are exempt from federal income tax under section 501©(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

Back­ground

1. Where do the restric­tions on reli­gious orga­ni­za­tions’ partic­i­pation in the political process come from?
2. Has this prohi­bition on political campaign inter­vention always been part of the Internal Revenue Code?
3. Are reli­gious orga­ni­za­tions singled out by the political campaign inter­vention prohi­bition in the Internal Revenue Code?
4. Doesn’t the First Amendment to the U.S. Consti­tution protect the right of reli­gious orga­ni­za­tions to engage in political activity?

IRS Restric­tions on Political Inter­vention and Lobbying

5. What political activ­ities are prohibited under the Internal Revenue Code?
6. Must reli­gious orga­ni­za­tions restrict their discussion of issues during election campaign periods?
7. When would an issue discussion violate the political campaign inter­vention prohi­bition?
8. Are reli­gious orga­ni­za­tions permitted to engage in lobbying activ­ities?
9. Are reli­gious orga­ni­za­tions permitted to partic­ipate in referenda, consti­tu­tional amend­ments and similar ballot initia­tives?
10. What are the conse­quences if a reli­gious orga­ni­zation engages in excessive lobbying?
11. Does the political campaign inter­vention prohi­bition apply to the political activ­ities of clergy and other reli­gious leaders?
12. When are the political activ­ities of clergy or other reli­gious leaders attributed to their reli­gious orga­ni­za­tions?
13. Who is considered a candidate?
14. What rules apply with respect to candi­dates for non-elective office?
15. May candi­dates appear in pulpits during worship services?
16. What if the candidate appears in a noncan­didate capacity?
17. What if the candidate is a member of the clergy?

Voter Education and Outreach

18. May reli­gious orga­ni­za­tions become involved in voter education?
19. May reli­gious orga­ni­za­tions publish or distribute voter guides?
20. Why must a broad range of issues be covered in voter education mate­rials?
21. May reli­gious orga­ni­za­tions publish or distribute legis­lators’ voting records?
22. May reli­gious orga­ni­za­tions distribute voter education mate­rials prepared by a candidate, political party or PAC?
23. May reli­gious orga­ni­za­tions sponsor candidate forums?
24. May reli­gious orga­ni­za­tions conduct voter regis­tration and get-out-the-vote drives?

Reli­gious Orga­ni­zation Facil­ities and Publications

25. May the facil­ities of reli­gious orga­ni­za­tions be used for civic or political events?
26. Do special rules apply to websites belonging to reli­gious orga­ni­za­tions?
27. Do links to candidate-related mate­rials constitute political campaign inter­vention?
28. May reli­gious orga­ni­za­tions sell paid political adver­tising in their publi­ca­tions?
29. May a reli­gious orga­ni­zation sell or rent its mailing list to a candidate, political party or PAC?

Enforcement

30. What are the penalties if a reli­gious orga­ni­zation violates the political campaign inter­vention prohi­bition?
31. Does the IRS target churches for enforcement of the political campaign inter­vention prohibition?

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Endnotes:

1 The Alliance Defending Freedom says its Pulpit Freedom Sunday initiative is designed to provoke a response from the IRS that would permit a consti­tu­tional chal­lenge to the IRS regu­la­tions. See http://www.speakupmovement.org/church/LearnMore/details/4702. To date, the IRS has not taken any formal action against partic­i­pating pastors, and no legal chal­lenge has been filed. (return to text)

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