It’s called the Johnson Amendment, and if you think these weekly email posts should not become more political, then please keep reading.

In 1954, a senator from Texas, Lyndon Johnson, proposed an amendment to the internal revenue code that stated no tax exempt religious organization [501(c)(3)] could use their funds for the purpose of influencing legislation or endorsing or campaigning for a particular candidate.  It passed without debate, as it did again in 1983, when the Regan administration reworked a substantial portion of the IRS code.