Churches and other tax-exempt organizations are restricted from endorsing or explicitly opposing political candidates under the 1954 Johnson Amendment, but the executive order Trump signed Thursday makes clear that those activities would still not be permitted.
Trump promised during the campaign to dismantle the Johnson Amendment, which bans tax-exempt organisations like churches from political speech and activities. It takes stun at the Johnson Amendment, which provides enforcement mechanisms against religious organizations that get involved in politics.
The 1954 Johnson Amendment restricts political activity by nonprofits, and a year ago on the campaign trail, Trump told a meeting of 100 evangelical and conservative Catholic leaders he would abolish that rule, at least inasmuch as it pertains to religious entities.
But the issue of religious liberty has been at the heart at some of the most high-profile lawsuit against the Affordable Care Act, which includes coverage of all forms of birth control as one of its "essential services".
"No one should be censoring sermons or targeting pastors", Trump said.
Trump's executive order gives "regulatory relief" to employers who object to the mandate.
"I just don't see it, how it changes anything in particular and I think sometime a lot of these executive orders are symbolic rather than substantive", said Young. "We are giving the churches their voices back".
USA in sanctions warning over Venezuela's move on constitution
Opposition lawmakers have said Maduro's call for a new constitution is evidence that Chavez's ideals no longer work in Venezuela. Back then, however, the opposition was splintered, protests failed to spread to poor areas and the economy was in better shape.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) said it has a 17-page complaint ready to be filed in the federal District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin.
Trump said on Thursday that the federal government has "used the power of the state as a weapon against people of faith".
An adjustment to the Internal Revenue Code - which was adjusted in 1986 but continued to include Johnson Amendment - would require an act of Congress, but Trump can influence how it is enforced.
The executive order itself, however, instructs the secretaries of the Treasury, labor, and health and human services to "consider issuing amended regulations, consistent with applicable law, to address conscience-based objections" to the contraception mandate.
Signed on the National Day of Prayer, the executive order promises to "vigorously promote religious liberty". And this religious liberty advocate says the order is "worse than useless". President Trump's efforts to promote religious freedom are thinly-veiled efforts to unleash his conservative religious base into the political arena while also using religion to discriminate.
Trump said his action is meant to ensure that people are not penalized for their "protected religious beliefs" and that religious institutions are not "unfairly" targeted for political speech.
Ralph Reed, a longtime evangelical leader and founder of the Faith & Freedom Coalition, said he was briefed by White House officials about the text of the executive order.
Comments