RIGHT OR WRONG · WED OCT 28
Should pastors endorse candidates from the pulpit?
Election Day is Tuesday. Where the law stands, and the case on each side.
For more than seventy years, an American pastor could preach on almost anything except who to vote for. Last year the government agreed that two Texas churches could, in worship. This spring a judge said his court had no power to approve that deal.
WHAT HAPPENED
Since 1954, a line in the tax code known as the Johnson Amendment has barred tax-exempt groups, churches included, from backing or opposing candidates. In 2024 the National Religious Broadcasters, two Texas churches and another religious group sued over it. In July 2025 the government proposed a settlement: a church speaking to its own congregation in worship would not count as campaigning.
On March 31, 2026, Judge J. Campbell Barker dismissed the case (Religion News Service), ruling that federal law kept his court from deciding the tax question. The ban stays in force for this election. The plaintiffs have appealed to the Fifth Circuit, and the Justice Department has asked that court to revive the case (National Religious Broadcasters). As of Oct 25, the appeals court had not ruled. Treasury and the IRS have also promised new guidance for houses of worship.
✔️ The case for
A sermon is religious speech, and many believers say the government should not police what is said from the pulpit. The churches in the case say their faith compels them to speak about elections. And acceptance is growing: in Lifeway surveys, 29% of Americans in 2024 (online survey) said endorsing a candidate in a church service was appropriate, up from 13% in 2008.
✖️ The case against
Critics say endorsements would turn churches into campaign tools, divide congregations and let tax-deductible gifts pay for politics. Most Americans agree. In a Pew survey this April, 79% of U.S. adults said churches should not back one candidate over another, including 74% of Republicans and 84% of Democrats.
WHAT TO WATCH
Pastors themselves are cautious in church. In a 2025 Lifeway survey of 1,003 Protestant pastors, 93% said they do not plan to endorse a candidate during worship and 5% said they do. In a separate 2024 Lifeway survey, 25% said they had endorsed a candidate outside their church role that year. Watch the Fifth Circuit and the IRS guidance. The deeper question belongs to each congregation: what belongs in a sermon?
Pastors endorsing: yes, no or it depends? One-word replies help us reach you.
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