For too long, the U.S. government has muzzled an entire category of its citizens because of their common occupation.

This restriction is not part of the U.S. Constitution. It’s a tax law enacted through a legislative maneuver more than 50 years ago – and incredibly, it’s been used to restrict the First Amendment rights of America’s preachers, priests, rabbis and clerics. At a time when Americans rely on the wisdom and judgment of their religious leaders more than ever before, this restriction is morally indefensible – and it’s bad public policy.

Under current federal law, the First Amendment is null and void within the walls of a church, synagogue or mosque. Religious leaders risk putting the tax-exempt status of their houses of worship at risk if they endorse political candidates from their pulpits. Christian clergy in particular are called to speak the truth in love, and if they are continually afraid of government reprisals for what they say, they may end up not speaking the truth at all – and that would have eternal consequences.

God clearly calls us to speak the truth in love and to influence the culture toward righteousness and justice. When issues of life and death, such as abortion or same-sex marriage are before us, it would be a crime to not speak out against such evils. It would also be an offense against God to remain silent about candidates who work toward furthering such evils.

CMC is a strong supporter of legislative efforts to restore the First Amendment rights of clergy of all faiths.