A group of pastors has won a tremendous victory from the Internal Revenue Service.
The pastors gathered in 2006 for a series of public policy conferences sponsored by the nonprofit Niemoller Foundation. The conferences included politicians such as Texas Governor Rick Perry as speakers. Kelly Shackelford of Liberty Legal Institute tells OneNewsNow that the Texas Freedom Network subsequently filed a complaint with the IRS -- to no avail -- alleging the nonprofit was attempting to influence political campaigns. "We actually now have in writing from the IRS that what these pastors did is completely valid and legal," Shackelford explains. The Plano, Texas-based attorney believes the decision indicates that liberals' attempt to intimidate pastors into keeping their mouths shut on social issues has backfired. "Instead of scaring pastors, now there's a written IRS statement outlining what these pastors are doing and approving them and saying those are valid under the law," he says. "So it's sort of the liberals' worst nightmare -- pastors not only have freedom, but now they know they have that freedom." In addition, the IRS says pastors can encourage their congregations to get involved in the political process and stand for the beliefs that are so important. In contrast, Dan Quinn with the Texas Freedom Network tells The Washington Times that he believes the ruling will "embolden wealthy special interests [to] funnel money into nonprofits" and "drag churches into partisan campaigns." "We continue to think that using faith as a political weapon is sleazy, regardless of whether the IRS agrees that Niemoller violated its tax-exempt status," said Quinn. But Shackelford counsels pastors and other religious leaders to be wary of threats from such liberal organizations. "They sound very confident and file many complaints, yet none are found valid even by the IRS," he says.
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