Point: In Defense of the Johnson Amendment

Author LaShawn Y. Warren argues against eliminating the Johnson Amendment and for the importance of keeping religious institutions and partisan politics separate.

In recent weeks, President Donald Trump has turned his attention to overhauling the nation’s tax code. While the exact details of Trump’s plan are unclear, one potential topic for debate could be the Johnson Amendment, a 6-decade-old tax law that prohibits churches and other tax-exempt organizations from either endorsing or opposing political candidates.

Trump has repeatedly vowed to repeal the amendment, supposedly at the behest of his evangelical base. But nearly 90 percent of evangelical leaders polled by the National Association of Evangelicals say pastors should not endorse politicians from the pulpit.

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