Lesson & Quiz 06 – Pastors, Churches, & Political Activity

Matt Staver is founder and chairman of Liberty Council. Prior to law school, he was a pastor and is still an ordained pastor.

With regards to political activity, there are two categories in the IRS code, one involving lobbying that was introduced in 1934. The other was political intervention in 1954. But neither one has resulted in any church ever losing its tax exempt status under either the lobbying or the political intervention restrictions.

Churches are unlike any other nonprofit organization. All other nonprofits seeking tax exempt status with contributions being tax deductible need to apply to the IRS for tax exemption status, they get a letter notifying that they are tax exempt churches, by their very nature, don’t need a letter. You can have a letter if you want, but you don’t need a letter. From the moment of conception. The church is tax exempt.

Go to Liberty Council’s website LC.org, click on the “churches” tab. There is a video that you can download. They also have lots of other information that you can hand out and educate others, whether it’s your pastor, other pastors, staff or congregation.

Not one church has ever lost its tax exemption for engaging in lobbying or political intervention.

You cannot have a disconnect between Sunday service and Tuesday service to our country and to our God. You can have voter registration, you can encourage voter registration, you can encourage people to register to vote, you may help them register to vote, then you may even provide transportation to take them to the polls. A pastor is also a citizen. A pastor may lend the name, the title and the affiliation for against a candidate. You can do that on their website and a brochure or some other printed format. The IRS says you can do that Pastor John Doe of ABC church, and then you put a little asterix by the name or by the title or affiliation and it says simply title and affiliation for identification purposes. That means it’s an endorsement of an individual, not of the church.

The definition of lobbying is supporting or opposing local, state and national laws. It includes voter initiatives, such as constitutional amendments and political nominations or appointments, such as justices to the United States Supreme Court or other state appointments by your governor that is involved in the lobby area, it’s not political intervention because they’re not running for elective office. With regards to that restriction, the IRS code says that nonprofits which would include a church may not devote more than a substantial part of the organization’s overall activity to lobbying. Well, what is the general rule? The general guidelines for nonprofit cases which include a church says that 5% is fine but 15% is not permissible it may be crossing the line.

You should contact Liberty Counsel for specific legal guidance. Their website is LC.org. You can also call at 407-875-1776. They are here to provide assistance. Liberty Counsel’s mission is to advance religious freedom, the sanctity of human life and the family as God designed it, to transform the culture as our Lord has transformed us.

Cooperative churches are churches whose doctrinal beliefs are consistent with the historic teachings of Christianity as set forth in the Liberty Counsel Doctrinal Statement, and affirm support for the mission of Liberty Counsel. Liberty Counsel’s Founder and Chairman is Mat Staver, who also serves as Senior Pastor. 

You can apply to join the association as a cooperative church on Liberty Counsel’s website at https://lc.org/PDFs/Church-Cooperative-Join-fillable2.pdf