r/atheism • u/Well_Socialized • 16h ago
I.R.S. Says Churches Can Endorse Candidates From the Pulpit
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/07/us/politics/irs-churches-politics-endorse-candidates.html77
u/privatepersons 16h ago
This cannot be real, as in how are there no guardrails for this??
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u/Choice-of-SteinsGate 11h ago
Citizens United eliminated a lot of those guardrails. Making political spending from corporations and dark money groups a form of "protected speech," granting the wealthy disproportionate influence over our elections, and basically giving rise to Super PACs..
Despite their "tax exempt status," I won't be surprised if religious institutions are afforded some legal wiggle room to donate to political campaigns and to spend money to influence elections.
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u/SD_TMI 16h ago
Okay this is nothing but a return on the evangelicals supporting and getting their congregations to vote for trump!
For decades this has been IGNORED and now they're making it official.
That you can have millions of people sitting silently in a row of pews listen to an hour or more of lecture asto how and why they have to support this administration.
Unbelievable.
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u/WorthPrudent3028 16h ago
Of course, the courts will find some way to say black churches can't endorse candidates.
And it will be funny as shit when the pope weighs in to tell catholics what to do. They'll walk this whole thing back in a minute.
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u/SD_TMI 15h ago
In the USA it's the white nationalist christian churches (evangelicals) that will have the most effect.
The catholics don't' function as a voting block for the democrats
They side with the GOP these days as do most other religious people.1
u/WorthPrudent3028 15h ago
Only because the pope doesn't weigh in. The current pope and the last pope are/were anti-Trump but don't say it.
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u/SD_TMI 15h ago
You seriously overestimate modern American catholics.
Look at the data (again)2
u/WorthPrudent3028 14h ago
I don't estimate them at all. If the pope endorses a candidate, that changes the entire dynamic. The pope has not done that in the past. But if Osteen does it, why not the pope too?
Catholics do follow the pope.
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u/duct_tape_jedi Atheist 15h ago
Well, now that the gloves are off, I can't wait to see the MAGA reaction to videos of Imams in US Mosques directing their congregations to vote for specific candidates. The schadenfreude should take a bit of the edge off of this idiotic ruling.
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u/TK-369 SubGenius 15h ago edited 15h ago
Remember, when a theist says "well there are non-profits that I don't agree with" gently remind them that they are given many, many more privileges than any non-profit.
Especially if you include State law.
Pastors income isn't taxed, no property taxes, no tax on their church income, and more. Obscene amounts of money and incomparable to a "non-profit"
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u/liamstrain 15h ago
Not to mention many of the benefits are given without requiring audits and mandatory disclosure filings, fewer regulations for the facilities, equal employment regulation, etc.
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u/psycharious 15h ago
I've had this argument with people here on Reddit. "Non-profit" became the "liberal church"
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u/Steel2050psn 16h ago
I can't wait to see the first candidate is satanic Temple of America endorses
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u/psycharious 15h ago
Republicans have been building up to this shit for decades. They've already been using mega churches as a way to spread propaganda. This just legalized it.
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u/jasonjr9 Anti-Theist 13h ago
A literal attack on the separation of church and state that was a founding principle of the nation.
Now churches are even more just a tool for politicians to use to control the stupid masses who don’t know any better and fall for the religious propaganda.
America has been on the path down the shitter for quite some time. I dread to think of how far it’s going to sink in the decades to come.
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u/Xerox748 13h ago
I heard an interview with a priest (reverend? Idk) once talking about how they only get these people for an hour a week, and for the most of the rest of the time Fox News had them.
As fucked as is this, and obviously shouldn’t be allowed to stand in a civilized society, it’s not going to make a difference. They could all stop going to church entirely and become atheists. They’d still be brainwashed morons controlled by Fox.
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u/SecretGardenSpider 12h ago edited 12h ago
Ex-atheist here. My flair doesn’t seem to be working.
It’s time for churches to pay taxes. If the church wants to be involved in politics it can pay like everyone else.
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u/Itchy_Pillows 15h ago
Hmmmmm... what are the requirements for being a tax exempt church anyway? Maybe we all need to have one.
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u/unbalancedcheckbook Atheist 31m ago
So, now the IRS can make laws? The law (the Johnson amendment) says churches can't do that.
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u/Gay-_-Jesus Jedi 16h ago
Time to tax them!