If You Want the Government’s Money, Follow the Government’s Rules

Among the most important and watched primaries of this electoral season is the California Senate primary, which will take place on March 5. This primary will help to determine the next senator from California, assuming the office long occupied by the late Senator Dianne Feinstein.   

There’s a lot riding on this primary, and a great deal of attention and money has flowed to the various candidates on both the Democratic and Republican side.  There are serious issues for the people of California to consider, and no clear favorites have emerged just yet. 

The Republican race is a particularly close one, pitting businessman and attorney Eric Early against former baseball star Steve Garvey, a 10-time All-Star, who also holds the National League record for consecutive games played (1,207). 

Recently, Reverend Jack Hibbs, the pastor of the Calvary Chapel Chino Hills in Chino California, delivered a sermon during which he urged his congregation to support Steve Garvey, saying "How are you voting, regarding our upcoming local vote? I want to publicly, right now today, encourage all of you to vote for Steve Garvey. You've got to vote for Steve Garvey.”

I should add that the Calvary Chapel Chino Hills is a large church. Think of the largest synagogue that you have ever visited, and multiply the number of people they seat on the High Holidays by at least five. Yes, it’s that big. Revered Hibbs used his influence as a pastor of a large church to endorse a political candidate, which might make sense during such a heated electoral season.

It’s also against the law. 

To his credit, Revered Hibbs quickly admitted that he was wrong to make such an endorsement from the pulpit, and that his actions constituted a violation of the law prohibiting tax-exempt organizations from endorsing political candidates.

Almost every religious institution in the United States is a tax-exempt organization. The JCCP/CBT is no exception.  As a result, there are several restrictions on our actions that the general public and non-exempt organizations are not subject to.  Under the terms of the 1954 Johnson Act (named for its principal sponsor, then senator Lyndon Johnson) churches and other nonprofit organizations that are exempt from taxation “are absolutely prohibited from directly or indirectly participating in or intervening in any political campaign on behalf of or in opposition to any candidate for elective public office.”

I’m a firm believer in the Johnson amendment. I’ve studied it, written about it, and even lectured my colleagues about it.   In fact, had the good Reverend Hibbs read any of my writings about it, he might have been spared the embarrassment that his public endorsement of Steve Garvey has caused, and spared his church the possibility of an IRS investigation. Simply put, the Johnson Amendment allows any religious leader serving a congregation, or the leadership of any other tax-exempt organization, to speak about any issue, political, or otherwise that we wish to speak about.  Yet at the same time, we are not permitted to endorse candidates for political office.  I can talk about abortion, taxes, the deficit, immigration, China, you name it. I can praise or condemn the decisions, judgement, or behavior of any elected official. I regularly talk about the great moral and political issues of our time in my sermons, writings, and messages to the congregation. The Johnson Amendment protects free speech and expression by religious leaders. It also prevents our religious institutions from surrendering to hyper-partisanship masked as religious piety. I respect the political sensibilities which motivated Reverend Hibbs’ endorsement of Steve Garvey, though I do not share them. He has the right to speak about them, and even advocate for his beliefs from his pulpit.  Yet at the same time, he must respect the limitations on his range of options due to his tax-exempt status. It is not to much to ask.  Our nonprofit organizations need to stay above the fray. Or they can choose to have the courage of their convictions and stop taking the government money.  But you can’t have both.

I understand the temptation to use the good name of our congregation in support of a particular candidate. I have been asked by both congregants as well as local politicians too support them publicly from the pulpit during electoral seasons.  There are many elected officials who have earned our trust, and our votes.  So, we must always remember that our great nation was founded by people who understood the need for a religious society, and a secular government as well. The Johnson Amendment protects these values .

Those of us who have studied this issue know that certain religious denominations and groups in this country are notorious for playing fast and loose with the provisions of the Johnson Amendment.  Sadly, the IRS has not been particularly aggressive regarding its enforcement. I hope that will change.  The already ugly political climate will degenerate even further if religious leaders are allowed to offer such endorsements, or even worse, are pressured to do so by their communal leaders and members.  Only strong enforcement of both the letter and spirit of the law will prevent this.

I hope that this case receives wider attention, so that more people will understand what is at stake, and why this issue is so important. I believe with all my heart that a great deal is riding on maintaining the integrity of the Johnson Amendment -- like the future of religious life in our great nation.