Quarter 3, 2025: Politics From the Puplit? Examining Recent Developments on the Johnson Amendment
By: Attorney Zander Chonka
Named after its legislative sponsor, then-Senator Lyndon B. Johnson, the Johnson Amendment is a provision in the U.S. tax code that prohibits all 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organizations from endorsing or opposing political candidates. The penalty for a violation is the loss of tax-exempt status. A recent settlement has created ambiguity into the scope of the law.
In 2024, two churches and two nonprofits brought a lawsuit against the IRS (Nat’l Religious Broadcasters v. Comm’r of IRS, E.D. Tex., No. 6:24-cv-311) claiming the government’s restrictions on their political speech under the Johnson Amendment violated their constitutional rights under the First and Fifth Amendments. The lawsuit claims the threat of losing tax-exempt status amounts to an unconstitutional restraint on free speech. And the IRS agreed, at least partially.
In July of 2025, the parties filed a Joint Motion for Entry of Consent Judgment, i.e., a request for the court to approve a settlement. The proposed settlement would enjoin the IRS from enforcing the Johnson Amendment against the plaintiffs in that case, specifically as to “speech by a house of worship to its congregation through its customary channels of communication on matters of faith in connection with religious services.” The terms of the proposed settlement would only apply to the parties in the case. However, the case has garnered national attention because the settlement may constitute a de facto policy change given that the IRS is voluntarily entering into the settlement.
So, how will the terms of this settlement affect 501(c)(3) organizations? For the first time in over 70 years, the settlement may suggest pastors or churches may be able to publicly address electoral politics through the lens of faith from the pulpit, through emails or newsletters, or other communications that are intended for the church’s congregation. The Consent Judgment likens such communications to “a family discussion concerning candidates.”
The proposal has drawn criticism from some religious bodies, including the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), who expressed concern that the policy change “could enable political candidates to exert pressure on churches for endorsements and introduce or magnify partisan political debate in congregational life.” Many church leaders and free speech advocates have celebrated the potential policy change as the lifting of an unconstitutional restraint on pastors and churches.
There is no doubt that as pastors, churches, and other 501(c)(3) organizations begin to wade into partisan politics new questions will arise. For instance, is the IRS’s consent intended to be a generalized policy position applicable to all 501(c)(3) organizations, or just applicable to the particular plaintiffs in that case? If a generalized position, will a new administration reverse the policy position of the IRS? All of these questions remain unanswered at this time but we expect to hear more guidance from the IRS in the coming months. A hearing has been set for November 7, 2025 to determine whether the Court will approve the Joint Motion. Many questions remain including what constitutes “customary channels of communication”? Does this include sermons from the pulpit, YouTube videos, or others? Most likely, the IRS will take a narrow approach to this settlement and find that the facts of that particular case are consistent with the Johnson Amendment.
Before our pastoral, church, non-profit, and ministry clients begin to consider entering the political fray, we would recommend you call and consult with Wesley R. Carter of the firm at 918-494-6868, so that you navigate this unchartered territory carefully.