Don't Repeal the Johnson Amendment, Fix It

Churches have not created PACs or 501(c)(4) affiliates, and probably for good prudential reasons. Getting deeply in­volved in politics would not be illegal or unconstitutional for the church, but it probably would not be good for the church.

The real free speech problem here is that the Johnson Amendment is an absolute prohibition. It applies to sermons and other things that churches say in their ordinary operations that cost no money. If the pastor says vote for the pro-life candidate, and that's the Repub­lican, or vote for the candidate who will care for the poor, and that's the Demo­crat, that's political and religious speech at the very core of the First Amendment.