Trump proposes to get rid of and totally destroy the Johnson Amendment. The Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, which sees the separation of church and state as a blessing, not a curse, quickly issued a statement that repealing the Johnson Amendment would not further the religious liberty that it fights for. "Politicizing churches does them no favors," the statement says. "The promised repeal is an attack on the integrity of both our charitable organizations and campaign finance system. Inviting churches to intervene in campaigns with tax-deductible offerings would fundamentally change our houses of worship. It would usher our partisan divisions into the pews and harm the church's ability to provide refuge."
Trump's announcement has the whiff of political payoff rather than addressing a real policy need. Going after the Johnson Amendment is little more than political pandering. ~ Tim Morris at Times Picayune
