Over 1500 Pastors Challenge IRS, Preach Politics From the Pulpit

October 9, 2012 / MariaNews.com 

Over 1500 Pastors Challenge IRS, Preach Politics From the Pulpit

LifeNews.com - A record number of pastors this past Sunday defied IRS rules and regulations and preached politics from their pulpits as a way to protest the restrictive guidelines placed on churches.

A total of 1,586 pastors participated in Pulpit Freedom Sunday in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. This is the fifth annual event sponsored by Alliance Defending Freedom, a pro-life legal group.

The registered pastors committed to preach sermons that present biblical perspectives on the positions of electoral candidates. In so doing, they exercised their constitutionally protected freedom to engage in religious expression from the pulpit despite an Internal Revenue Service rule known as the Johnson Amendment that activist groups often use to silence churches by threatening their tax-exempt status.

“Pastors should decide what they preach from the pulpit, not the IRS,” said Senior Legal Counsel Erik Stanley. “It’s outrageous for pastors and churches to be threatened or punished by the government for applying biblical teachings to all areas of life, including candidates and elections. The question is, ‘Who should decide the content of sermons: pastors or the IRS?’”

Read the Full Story at LifeNews.com

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