By Abby Pender
The Charlotte Observer
(TNS)
Religious leaders and congregations could face “huge pressure” because of a Internal Revenue Service ruling this week, said Temple Beth El Rabbi Asher Knight.
The IRS said Monday in a Texas court filing that churches and other religious nonprofits can make political endorsements to their congregations without endangering their tax-exempt status, the New York Times first reported.
Local religious leaders spoke to The Charlotte Observer how the decision will impact their communities in a state known for its political battleground status and its position in the Bible Belt.
Knight reacted to the news with concern about “the moral credibility of clergy and the unity of our communities.” The decision, he said, potentially forces religious leaders to “choose between upsetting a donor or maintaining neutrality”.
“It puts enormous pressure on clergy to potentially take stances that could also alienate the diversity of the congregation no matter what they do and that threatens trust,” he said.
But Rev. James Howell, senior pastor of Myers Park United Methodist Church, called the IRS decision “a moot point.”
“I could name for you dozens and dozens of pastors who have endorsed candidates,” Howell said. “I can’t name one who’s lost tax-exempt status, because they’d have to persecute ¾ of the churches in the country.”
Richard Schmalbeck, a law professor at Duke University, said a fair number of pastors were vocal about candidates before Monday’s ruling, adding that the IRS doesn’t have the resources to enforce neutrality among religious groups and other nonprofits.
Howell added he will continue to “lay out” what Christianity means for his “white mainline” congregation to make their own voting decisions rather than endorsing a candidate.
North Carolina’s Faith and Freedom Coalition Executive Director Jason Williams said he’s thrilled churches can now “speak boldly about political truths” without fear of government intervention and called the ruling “a significant victory” for religious freedom and First Amendment rights.
“Candidates, referendums, and political parties often hold views that align or conflict with biblical principles. Pastors have a duty to address these relevant topics to guide their congregations faithfully,” he said in an email statement.
NC politics affected?
North Carolina elections are often so close that even the tiniest policy chance could be decisive in any particular campaign, said Schmalbeck.
Although he acknowledged that any policy change can affect North Carolina’s political fragility, he said the IRS’s recent reversal will be “largely harmless.”
Congregations that share similar political beliefs already vote in line with their religious leader, he said, while more diverse congregations usually don’t want politics entering their worship.
Schmalbeck said he thinks the ruling will only become a problem if churches use their resources to support a particular campaign such as chartering buses to take service attendees to the polls or hosting a phone banking session in a house of worship. Though, it’s not unheard of in North Carolina for church groups to organize transportation to the polls.
“The concern really is that if a charity can engage in political activity without limits, it would encourage people to set up that kind of charity precisely because they could get tax deductions for contributions to that charity, but they could not get tax deductions for contributions to a political campaign,” Schmalbeck added.
Williams, however, said churches and pastors are driven by their “biblical mission, not political agendas,” which is why he doesn’t foresee “significant impacts on campaign finances.”
The clergy’s endorsement won’t necessarily sway their congregation, Howell said, noting that over his 45 years in religious leadership he’s only observed the clergy’s political influence wane.
“The real religion in America today is political ideology,” he said.
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©2025 The Charlotte Observer. Visit charlotteobserver.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency LLC.
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Tags: churches, IRS, tax-exempt groups, Taxes
