President Donald Trump has signed an executive order on religious freedom, allowing churches and other religious groups to assume more active roles in politics.
The idea behind the three-page order Trump signed Thursday focuses on the IRS’s inability to punish religious organizations for political actions that fall short of endorsing political candidates.
In signing the order, Trump said he would prevent the federal government from “bullying and even punishing Americans for following their religious beliefs.”
Meanwhile, churches and other religious organizations have been prohibited since 1954, from participating “directly or indirectly” in political campaigns, at risk of losing their tax exemptions.
While Trump promised to “destroy” the rarely enforced, Congress-sanctioned amendment signed by President Lyndon Johnson that prohibited the religious groups’ direct participation in political campaigns, only Congress or the courts can amend or overturn the revision.
