Do clergy have the legal right to speak freely about political issues and candidates from the pulpit?  Erik Stanley, a lawyer with the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), discusses this issue and the ADF’s Pulpit Initiative with host Tony Gill.  Stanley details how the prohibition on clergy free speech dates back to 1954 when then-Senator Lyndon Johnson proposed a little-known amendment to a tax overhaul bill that prevented non-profit organizations from engaging in direct political endorsements of candidates.  Stanley then discusses how this policy is being challenged through the Pulpit Initiative and Pulpit Freedom Sundays.  The first Pulpit Freedom Sunday was held in September, 2008 and involved several ministers directly engaging in political speech during their sermon as a means of testing the Johnson Amendment.  The discussion revolves around general free speech and religious liberty concerns.

RELATED LINKS

Alliance Defense Fund website.

Pulpit Initiative website.

IRS statement on Johnson Amendment.

First Amendment to the US Constitution

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8 Responses to “Erik Stanley on Clergy & Free Speech”

1. Research On Religion | Hall on Religion & the Founding Fathers says:

   June 27, 2010 at 6:30 am

   […] Stanley on Clergy & Free Speech. […]

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2. Pulpit Initiative Featured on Research on Religion Podcast | says:

   July 2, 2010 at 4:06 pm

   […] podcast discusses the Pulpit Initiative in-depth and Professor Gill did a great job of discussing many of the important issues surrounding the Pulpit […]

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3. ADF Alliance Alert » Erik Stanley: Pulpit Initiative featured on research on religion podcast says:

   July 2, 2010 at 5:35 pm

   […] non-resident scholar at Baylor University’s Institute for Studies of Religon. … The podcast discusses the Pulpit Initiative in-depth and Professor Gill did a great job of discussing many of the important issues surrounding the […]

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4. Research On Religion | Joe Fuiten on Clergy & Politics says:

   July 19, 2010 at 4:04 am

   […] Erik Stanley on Clergy & Free Speech […]

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5. Research On Religion | Jay Hein on the Faith-Based & Community Initiative says:

   September 30, 2010 at 3:40 pm

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6. Research On Religion | Corwin Smidt on Religion, Elections and the God Gap says:

   October 11, 2010 at 5:56 pm

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   May 7, 2012 at 4:01 am

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8. Research On Religion | David Cortman on Religious Liberty Updates says:

   October 20, 2013 at 4:01 am

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