🚨 Trump’s IRS GREENLIGHTS Churches to Endorse Candidates – Is This the End of Church-State Separation? | The Josh Lafazan Show
Welcome back to The Josh Lafazan Show, where facts meet accountability and democracy is always on the line. Today, we’re tackling a bombshell policy shift that could reshape the future of American politics—and religion.
In a stunning and deeply controversial move, the Trump administration’s IRS has now declared that churches and religious leaders can endorse political candidates—without losing their tax-exempt status.
That’s right. The 70-year precedent set by the 1954 Johnson Amendment—which ensured religious institutions stayed out of partisan politics—is being tossed aside. With this one directive, Donald Trump has cracked open the floodgates for religion to become a direct political weapon ahead of the critical 2026 midterms.
Let’s break down what this means, why it’s dangerous, and what it could mean for democracy as we know it.
Since 1954, the Johnson Amendment has served as a firewall between religion and partisan politics. It prevented tax-exempt religious institutions from endorsing or opposing political candidates, preserving the neutrality of churches and safeguarding the foundational principle of church-state separation.
It wasn’t about silencing faith—it was about protecting democracy from religious overreach. By throwing it out, the Trump administration is blurring the lines between the pulpit and the ballot box. Now, pastors could stand at the altar and tell congregants who to vote for—with government-sanctioned tax privileges.
This is not just about taxes. It’s about the core of the First Amendment.
Our founding fathers, including Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, believed that mixing religion and politics would lead to tyranny. Jefferson spoke of a “wall of separation” between church and state—not to marginalize religion, but to prevent it from becoming a tool of power and oppression.
Letting religious institutions endorse candidates opens the door to a dangerous new era, where religious loyalty becomes political currency. Where sermons become campaign rallies. And where democracy gets drowned in doctrine.
Make no mistake: this isn’t happening in a vacuum.
This IRS policy shift is part of a broader, disturbing trend. Across the country, we’re seeing a deliberate push to embed religion into public policy:
📜 Ten Commandments in classrooms
📖 Bibles in public schools
🙏 Prayer in public institutions
These efforts are not about faith—they’re about power. About turning one religious identity into a political machine.
We are watching the rise of Christian nationalism, where America is defined not by freedom, but by one narrow view of morality—weaponized to undermine LGBTQ+ rights, abortion access, and public education.
What does this mean for 2026?
Religious institutions—especially evangelical churches, a backbone of Trump’s base—could now become political super-PACs, influencing millions of voters while enjoying full tax immunity.
Expect a flood of church-backed endorsements. Expect coordinated get-out-the-vote efforts from the pulpit. Expect targeted fundraising that bypasses traditional campaign finance laws. And most importantly—expect these endorsements to overwhelmingly favor far-right candidates.
This isn’t just a policy tweak. It’s a political strategy.
Legal scholars are already warning: this policy could be flat-out unconstitutional.
The Establishment Clause of the First Amendment forbids government actions that favor one religion over others. By granting political power and protections to churches that support specific candidates, the government is inviting a wave of court challenges, particularly from civil liberties groups and watchdogs defending secular democracy.
The courts will have to decide: Are we still a nation that separates religion from governance? Or are we sliding toward a theocracy in disguise?
At its core, this isn’t just about churches or taxes or elections.
It’s about what kind of country we want to be.
Will we preserve a system where all beliefs are protected—where no one religion dominates and where government serves all people equally? Or will we allow political movements to co-opt faith and use it to divide, exclude, and dominate?
Because if churches become partisan actors—and still get taxpayer subsidies—that’s not religious freedom. That’s religious privilege. And it threatens the very foundations of American pluralism.
Trump’s move to let churches endorse candidates isn’t about liberty. It’s about control.
It opens the door for unchecked religious influence in elections, for the politicization of faith, and for millions of dollars to flow into campaigns—tax-free.
It’s a calculated move to hijack the 2026 midterms by turning houses of worship into campaign headquarters.
If we don’t fight back, we risk losing the fragile balance that protects both religion and democracy.
📢 Stay informed.
🗳️ Protect secular governance.
🙏 Defend freedom—for everyone, not just the favored few.
This is The Josh Lafazan Show, and the battle for our democracy is just getting started.