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Did you know that former President Donald Trump used an executive order to “vigorously enforce Federal law’s robust protections for religious freedom” including the easing rights of Churches to engage in political speech?
Executive Order 13798 was signed on May 4, 2017. “The Founders envisioned a Nation in which religious voices and views were integral to a vibrant public square, and in which religious people and institutions were free to practice their faith without fear of discrimination or retaliation by the Federal Government,” the president wrote in his directive.
“For that reason, the United States Constitution enshrines and protects the fundamental right to religious liberty as Americans’ first freedom. Federal law protects the freedom of Americans and their organizations to exercise religion and participate fully in civic life without undue interference by the Federal Government. The executive branch will honor and enforce those protections.” (TAKE A POLL: Has Your View on Personal Hygiene and Safety Evolved Since the Pandemic?)
Respect & Protect
Section 2 of the Order declares that every “executive departments and agencies (agencies) shall, to the greatest extent practicable and to the extent permitted by law, respect and protect the freedom of persons and organizations to engage in religious and political speech.” (TAKE A POLL: Do You Believe The Government is Doing Enough To Support Small Businesses?)
Trump specifically stated that the Secretary of the Treasury must ensure that the Department of the Treasury doesn’t take “any adverse action against any individual, house of worship, or other religious organization on the basis that such individual or organization speaks or has spoken about moral or political issues from a religious perspective, where speech of similar character has, consistent with law, not ordinarily been treated as participation or intervention in a political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) a candidate for public office by the Department of the Treasury.” Similar demands were made of the Secretaries of Labor, Health and Human Services.
The declaration eased the IRS enforcement of the Johnson Amendment, which essentially barred churches from engaging in any form of political speech.
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