re: #296 dangerman

if it were truly that important, they can politic from the pulpit right now…

Not legally. The Johnson amendment prohibits 501(c)3 organisations and churches from engaging in politics.

The reality is the IRS doesn’t enforce it well. What churches want is the Johnson Amendment entirely repealed, thereby removing the restriction of churches from endorsing or opposing candidates.

en.wikipedia.org (description of amendment)
irs.gov (specific application of amendment, and prohibited activities).

The first two paragraphs from the IRS page:

Under the Internal Revenue Code, all section 501(c)(3) 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. Contributions to political campaign funds or public statements of position (verbal or written) made on behalf of the organization in favor of or in opposition to any candidate for public office clearly violate the prohibition against political campaign activity. Violating this prohibition may result in denial or revocation of tax-exempt status and the imposition of certain excise taxes.

Certain activities or expenditures may not be prohibited depending on the facts and circumstances. For example, certain voter education activities (including presenting public forums and publishing voter education guides) conducted in a non-partisan manner do not constitute prohibited political campaign activity. In addition, other activities intended to encourage people to participate in the electoral process, such as voter registration and get-out-the-vote drives, would not be prohibited political campaign activity if conducted in a non-partisan manner.