U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order on religious liberties created to ease a ban on political activity by churches and other tax-exempt institutions.
After President Trump signed an executive order on Thursday allowing religious institutions more freedom in political matters - it's brought some mixed emotion to the Tennessee Valley.
President Donald Trump signed a highly anticipated executive order on religious liberty in front of faith leaders at the White House Rose Garden on the National Day of Prayer on Thursday.
A current provision in the USA federal tax code, known as the Johnson Amendment, says that churches can be investigated and lose their tax-exempt status if they directly support or oppose any political candidate. It sends the message that the IRS won't be held accountable by this administration for continuing to turn a blind eye to even blatant examples of politicking by churches and other religious organizations. Under current law, churches are free to promote political candidates but must forgo such activity to obtain tax-exempt status.
"We're doing a giant U-turn", Jeffress said.
The president declared his administration would be "leading by example" on religious liberty in the US.
The order also asks the government to issue rules that would allow religious groups such as the Little Sister of the Poor to deny their employees insurance coverage for services that they oppose on religious grounds, such as birth-control pills.
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The President also ordered the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Labor, and the Secretary of Health and Human Services to "consider issuing amended regulations, consistent with applicable law, to address conscience-based objections to the preventive-care mandate promulgated under section 300gg-13 (a)(4) of title 42, United States Code".
The executive order promises that the executive branch of the federal government will honor and enforce all existing protections for religious liberty.
Leaders of some faith groups condemned the order, saying it would damage congregations by politicizing them. The executive order relaxes that ban, but to officially repeal the Amendment Trump would need to go through Congress.
The FFRF is calling the order unconstitutional.
"It will just remove the fear of some of these organizations of some sort of retribution from the IRS", said Antizzo.
"As a result of President Trump's [order], churches and religious organizations will be able to blatantly and deliberately flaunt the electioneering restrictions. including during the upcoming 2018 elections, unlike secular non-profits, including FFRF", reads a portion of the lawsuit, notes AP.
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