For Immediate Release: April 15, 2025
Recently, in an attempt to unmuzzle the free speech of Christian leaders, Congressman Mark Harris and Senator James Lankford introduced legislation to reverse the unconstitutional free speech restrictions “silencing pastors, churches, and non-profits.” The Johnson Amendment passed in 1954 restricts the speech rights of churches and ministries, via the IRS. If a pastor or Christian ministry leader speaks out about the intersection of morality and politics, they risk IRS fines or worse, the loss of tax-exempt status, a financial death knell.
In 2020, Pastor Gary Hamrick, pastor of Cornerstone Chapel in Leesburg, Virginia, was fined ostensibly for violating the Johnson Amendment, specifically regarding political speech of churches and religious charities. The violation? A sermon in which Pastor Hamrick attempted to measure the positions of two presidential candidates against Biblical principles—an endeavor the IRS deemed too political.
Rev. Jim Harden, CEO of a pro-life medical network targeted by government bad actors addressed Christian leaders saying, “Speaking as the CEO of conservative non-profit organizations targeted by both the government and Antifa, Senator Lankford and Congressman Harris’ successful repeal of the Johnson Amendment would make life easier. But a lack of ease does not negate our duty, as pastors and Christian leaders, to speak the truth no matter the consequences.”
Last year, the National Religious Broadcasters, two churches, and a religious non-profit filed suit against the IRS, challenging the Johnson Amendment. Evidently, the IRS enforces the Johnson Amendment in a biased manner, allegedly targeting conservative Christian churches and ministries while, according to the lawsuit, “no investigation, and particularly no adverse action, has ever been taken against any left-leaning or Democrat-affiliated nonprofit. The proportion of adverse actions taken against 501(c)(3) nonprofits skews disproportionately against conservative organizations.”
The Institute for Free Speech noted, “In its current form, the Johnson Amendment is simply unworkable. Enforcement is rare, penalties are severe, and guidance is unclear.” Meanwhile, the recently introduced Free Speech Fairness Act would reduce of IRS censorship of churches and non-profits.
Rev. Harden observes that the relative silence in Christian churches and conservative non-profit organizations on moral hot topics may emanate from fear of compromising leadership. Rev. Harden notes in The Christian Post, “This fear of government retaliation is precisely why many conservative pastors avoid speaking out on critical moral issues — be it abortion, same-sex marriage, transgender ideology, or euthanasia. The threat of losing tax-exempt status and vital ministry funding is enough to muzzle even the boldest voices.”
For nearly a century, the Johnson Amendment has been leveraged to quell the moral voice of pastors speaking truth to power. Forcing pastors and non-profit leaders to choose between loss of their livelihood or staying unconscionably silent in the face of cultural decay is odd for a nation that so prizes freedom of religion as to place it first on Bill of Rights.
How has the Johnson Amendment managed to survive 71 years in the face of the First Amendment and its establishment clause? “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” The clause was not written to stifle the speech of citizens and organizations, but rather to keep the government from establishing a state religion or engaging in forced speech. Rev. Harden summarizes, “The First Amendment protects religious liberty — not to shield government from faith, but to shield faith from government control. The Church is meant to inform public morality, not be punished for it.”
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