Sunday services may be a bit different this weekend in some churches across the U.S.
September 27 is "Pulpit Freedom Sunday." According to senior counsel Erik Stanley of the Alliance Defense Fund, it is a time when pastors can stand in their pulpits and proclaim the entire truth of the gospel -- even as it applies to candidates in elections. "It really flows from the fact that pastors have a right to speak freely from their pulpits without fearing government censorship or intimidation -- and that no one should be able to intimidate pastors into giving up their constitutional rights," the attorney explains. Under the Johnson Amendment (added to the Federal Tax Code in 1954), pastors face the possibility of losing their church's tax-exempt status if they do speak out. Stanley believes that amendment is unconstitutional. "Pulpit Freedom Sunday is a way for pastors to express their constitutional rights -- and hopefully set up a court challenge that will overturn the Johnson Amendment as unconstitutional and restore the rights of pastors to speak freely once and for all," he adds. Current the Johnson Amendment effectively silences pastors, although none who have spoken out have lost their tax-exempt status. ADF says more than 80 pastors will preach sermons on September 27 related to biblical perspectives on the positions of electoral candidates or current government officials.
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