KANSAS CITY, MO - A Christian advocacy group says about 80 pastors have preached partisan political sermons -- daring the Internal Revenue Service to revoke their churches' tax exempt status.
The Alliance Defense Fund's Erik Stanley says most of the sermons were preached this past Sunday, with a few scheduled this coming Sunday. He says the goal of "Pulpit Freedom Sunday" is to trigger an IRS action that a church can challenge in court in an effort to get the ban on pulpit politics declared unconstitutional.
Partisan political sermons that were preached last year at 33 churches led to one IRS action that was suspended over a procedural issue.
Barry Lynn, the executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, says pastors can preach anything they want, but should not expect their churches to remain tax-exempt if they endorse or oppose candidates.