The Hill - Churches and other houses of worship registered as tax-exempt nonprofits can endorse political candidates to their congregations, the IRS said on Monday.
The decision, first reported in The New York Times, was communicated in a court filing intended to settle a lawsuit filed by two Texas churches and a group of Christian broadcasters.
501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations have long been prohibited from endorsing candidates or otherwise intervening in campaigns for political offices as a condition of their tax-exempt status.
In its court filing, the IRS said endorsing candidates neither constituted taking part or intervening in a political campaign, as the agency’s code currently describes.
“Bona fide communications internal to a house of worship, between the house of worship and its congregation, in connection with religious services, do neither of those things, any more
than does a family discussion concerning candidates,” the agency wrote.
... A 2022 investigation by ProPublica and the Texas Tribune found that at least 18 churches had endorsed political candidates, and the agency largely looked the other way.
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