A non-profit group representing atheists and agnostics filed a federal lawsuit this week calling on the IRS to prevent tax-exempt religious organizations from electioneering. The Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation, which advocates for the separation of church and state, says that failing to enforce the tax code allows churches to advocate for candidates and unfairly raise money for political causes. According to the group, American religious organizations receive more than one billion dollars in tax-exempt contributions annually. Congress barred churches from using tax-exempt funds for politics in 1954, but since then the IRS has only revoked the tax exempt status of one church.
KBOO’s Zeke Harrington spoke with Annie Laurie Gaylor, co-president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation, for more on the lawsuit.
- KBOO