by Chuck Ness
The first time religious organizations were given an exemption from paying taxes was with The Wilson Tariff Act of 1894. The next year this act was overturned by the Supreme Court, but every tax code since has allowed the exemption to be part of the tax code. However, up until 1954 religious organizations still had the freedom to participate in political and lobbying activities. That is when, then Senator Lyndon B Johnson, introduced amendment 501(c)(3) to the tax code during a Senate floor debate on the 1954 Internal Revenue Code.
Without hearings, testimony, or comments by any tax-exempt organizations, the amendment was adopted and added to the tax code. It is then that all organizations claiming a tax exempt status, including the church, were banned from ever engaging in political and lobbying activities. One can only imagine why no senator nor congressperson ever alerted the religious community to the amendment and how it would eliminate their influence on elections and legislation. Regardless of the reason, the church was silent at a time when it needed to be the loudest. We sure could have used Jay Sekulow and the American Center for Law and Justice back then.
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