Biden’s campaign held an event at a Philly church. Was that allowed?
The Johnson Amendment, which restricts churches from campaigning, goes largely unenforced.
President Joe Biden chose to hold one of first public appearances after his disastrous June debate performance at a Philadelphia church. There, he received a much-needed and widely broadcast morale boost as part of his campaign’s media offensive.
But the Internal Revenue Service, (IRS) which provides tax exemptions to houses of worship and other nonprofits, prohibits these organizations from campaigning for candidates.
It’s common for candidates and presidents to visit houses of worship. Former President Donald Trump spoke at a church in Detroit last month as part of his attempt to appeal to Black voters.
The rarely enforced law that draws the lines between houses of worship and politics is called the Johnson Amendment, and it’s really about taxes. Here’s what to know about how the law does and doesn’t apply to the president’s visit.
What is the Johnson Amendment?
The 1954 Johnson Amendment, named after Lyndon B. Johnson, prohibited all 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations from campaigning for or against any candidate for public office, which extends to houses of worship like churches. Churches automatically fall under this categorization unless the organization specifically decides to operate as a business instead.
According to the IRS, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations are “absolutely prohibited from directly or indirectly participating in, or intervening in, any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for elective public office.”
These nonprofit organizations are tax-exempt and people who donate to them can write off their contributions. Churches have even more leeway, as they aren’t required to report to the IRS in the same way other nonprofits are. That means if this law didn’t exist, people could make opaque and tax-exempt political donations through churches.
Religious leaders can talk about issues from the pulpit that are deemed political, such as abortion and gay rights, and they can advocate for ballot measures; but they can’t support or oppose specific candidates, according to reporter Jeremy Schwartz, who investigated churches who skirt the rule for ProPublica and the Texas Tribune.
They’re also allowed to educate voters about elections in a nonpartisan way, such as through get-out-the-vote initiatives.
How did the church present Biden?
“Comeback kid,” “fighter,” “champion,” and “a winner,” were all terms Bishop J. Louis Felton, the senior pastor at Mount Airy Church of God in Christ, used to describe Biden during his Sunday service before the president made a seven-minute speech. He also compared the president to Joseph in the Bible.
“It’s a tough race, it’s a tough battle but we’re coming out of the pit,” Felton said to the congregation on Sunday. “We’ve been hurt, we’ve been slandered, but we’re coming out of the pit. Go, Joseph. You can make it, Joseph!”
Felton lauded the president’s record, and even contrasted him to Trump, saying he doesn’t know why people are taking issue with Biden’s stutter and speaking skills while “another person lies fluidly and you never challenge his lies.” He said Biden “doesn’t sell Bibles, he actually reads the Bible,” in another jab at Trump, who has urged followers to buy $59.99 Bibles that use his licensed image.
“We love you President Biden,” the pastor declared. “Be encouraged!”
Though Biden didn’t name Trump in his speech, he said he’s never been more optimistic about the future “if we stick together.”
As the president left the church, congregants shouted “four more years!”
» READ MORE: In desperate need of a boost, President Biden went to a Philly church to ‘feel the love’
Are candidates allowed to speak at churches?
Biden is legally allowed to speak on behalf of his campaign at a church if his opponent was given the same opportunity, as required by the tax code, or if he speaks in his capacity as president.
For example, Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote, a nonprofit hosting Vice President Kamala Harris on Saturday, noted that a representative from Trump’s campaign was also invited to participate in the town hall event.
Last Sunday’s church event was organized by Biden’s campaign, not his administration, and the Biden campaign declined to comment for this article on how it works with houses of worship.
Felton confirmed the church is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, but did not seem to be aware that the service would be considered a campaign event.
“The president has a right to go to church,” Felton said over the phone on Thursday. " … and so that was not a campaign event, it was a worship event in which we ministered to the leader of our nation and the leader of the free world.”
The Secret Service and White House contacted the church on short notice saying the president “wanted to worship with us” after Biden’s original plans for the day were canceled, Felton said.
Is the Johnson Amendment enforced?
Public statements for or against a candidate “clearly violate” the rules against political campaigning for tax-exempt organizations, according to the IRS. Breaking the rule could infringe on an organization’s tax-exempt status.
But in practice, the lines are “fuzzy” when it comes to what pastors can say from the pulpit, and the law isn’t consistently enforced, according to Daniel Weiner, director of the Brennan Center’s Elections and Government Program.
A July 2020 Pew Research Center survey found 9% of adults who attended services in the month prior heard sermons expressing support for Trump, and 6% said the same about Biden.
Additionally, the Texas Tribune and ProPublica reported on 18 churches that violated the amendment across two years, with some pastors even calling certain candidates “demonic,” and the investigation found that the IRS has largely abandoned its enforcement responsibilities on the matter. The two publications found more violations than the total number of churches the IRS even investigated for political campaigning over the past decade.
Saying nice things about the president is acceptable, but even an “implicit contrast with an opponent starts to get closer to the line,” and “the closer you get to what sounds like a campaign endorsement, the more you’re potentially raising eyebrows,” Weiner said.
It’s “very, very common” for both conservative and liberal religious leaders to “push on the edges of the Johnson Amendment” when politicians visit due to the lack of enforcement, he said.
“I think pastors can and do comment on public affairs, and that sort of commentary is intimately intertwined with commentary on public officials,” he said.
During Biden’s visit on Sunday, the pastor acknowledged questions raised about the president’s appearance at the church.
“Some people are wondering why the president is even here,” Felton said to the crowd. “ … We are firm believers in the separation of church and state, and we are separated but we are not divorced. And since we are not divorced, we still have visitation rights. The president has a right to be here.”
Have there been efforts to repeal the Johnson Amendment?
Donald Trump vowed to eradicate the amendment, and has lied about doing so through an executive order. A change to the rule, in reality, would have to go through Congress.
Republicans in Congress have made unsuccessful attempts to weaken or repeal the amendment but there has been no significant movement in that direction. The ACLU described the executive order Trump portrayed as reversing the law as “an elaborate photo-op with no discernible policy outcome.”
And despite some religious advocates painting the topic as a free-speech issue, most people want their houses of worship to stay out of politics, according to a 2021 Pew Research Center analysis.