Pastor's Rights during an Election

Lately pastors have been getting into trouble for crossing the line between church and state. The government thinks that during an election year that pastors need to be careful about what they say. The Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) felt they needed to clarify the situation...

Since 1994 ADF has been a legal alliance defending the right to hear and speak the Truth through strategy, training, funding, and litigation. They have sent out a PDF document to as many churches as they can explaining what can and cannot be said at the pulpit legally:

...The truth is that federal tax law allows a church to spend at least 5% (in some cases, up to 20%) of its total resources on direct lobbying for legislation, which includes both ballot initiatives and referenda. This certainly includes the right of church leaders to urge their congregations to vote for a prolife or pro-marriage law. Plainly stated, there is nothing in federal tax law to prevent a pastor from directly telling the congregation to support legislation that the church believes to be beneficial to the community. On the other hand, IRS regulations do prohibit tax exempt organizations — including churches — from endorsing candidates. However, churches remain free to educate their congregations through distributing voter guides, registering voters, or hosting candidate forums.

Make sure every pastor and youth pastor in your life knows what his rights are. Below is a link to the full PDF document.

Link to document:
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Pastor's Rights during an Election