IS THAT LEGAL?
Good question! Many are confused about what is and what is not legal given the IRS restrictions on political activity by tax-exempt organizations. While it is impossible to lay out a definitive list of do's and don'ts since the IRS interprets what is and isn't legal, the resource below is offered for general guidelines:
| Legal Do's and Don'ts |
Pastor |
| Preach on moral and social issues and encourage civic involvement. |
Yes |
| Endorse candidates on behalf of the church. |
No |
| Engage in voter registration activities that avoid promoting any one candidate or particular political party. |
Yes |
| Use church funds or services (such as mailing lists or office equipment) to contribute directly to candidates or political committees. |
No |
| Distribute educational materials to voters (such as voter guides), but only those that do not favor a particular candidate or party and that cover a wide range of issues. |
Yes |
| Permit the distribution of material on church premises that favors any one candidate or political party. |
No |
| Conduct candidate or issues forums where each duly qualified candidate invited and provided an equal opportunity to address the congregation. |
Yes |
| Use church funds to pay fees for political events. |
No |
| Set up a political committee that would contribute funds directly to political candidates. |
No |
| Allow candidates to solicit funds while speaking in a church. |
No |
| Invite candidates or elected officials to speak at church services. Churches that allow only one candidate or a single partys candidate to speak can be seen as favoring that candidate or party. No candidate should be prohibited from addressing a church if others running for the same office have been allowed to speak. Exempt from this are candidates or public figures who may speak at a church, but they must refrain from speaking about their candidacy. |
Yes |
Adapted from resources provided by: Alliance Defense Fund, American Center for Law and Justice and Liberty Counsel