Can pastors endorse political candidates? Troy Miller, president and CEO of National Religious Broadcasters, explains NRB’s Johnson Amendment lawsuit against the IRS.

The Johnson Amendment was added to the tax code in 1954 by then Senator Lyndon B. Johnson. It bars 501(c)(3) organizations, including churches, from endorsing or opposing political candidates. Miller explains why NRB went to court in 2024 and why the case was narrowed to pastors speaking to their congregations. He also explains how a consent decree with the Justice Department now depends on an appeal to the Fifth Circuit over the Anti-Injunction Act. He and James clarify what the case would and would not change for churches, broadcasters, and podcasters.

The conversation questions the assumption that keeping faith out of public life produces neutrality. Miller argues that someone’s worldview always guides law and policy. He traces a long history of pastors speaking to moral questions, from the Black Robe Regiment to Martin Luther at the Diet of Worms. James weighs the risks of pastors speaking about candidates and why the case may matter most for local politics. He also notes the irony that for-profit corporations face fewer limits on political activity than nonprofits.

In this episode:
What is the Johnson Amendment, and how did Lyndon B. Johnson add it to the tax code in 1954?
Why National Religious Broadcasters sued the IRS, and what the consent decree with the Justice Department would protect
The Anti-Injunction Act and NRB’s appeal to the Fifth Circuit
Martin Luther at the Diet of Worms, Jefferson’s letter to the Danbury Baptists, and the separation of church and state
Why the case covers pastors and their broadcasts but not other Christian broadcasters or podcasters

Guest: Troy Miller, president and CEO of National Religious Broadcasters.

Go deeper: Christians and Politics
About Troy Miller: thinkingchristian.org/guests/troy-miller

Thinking Christian is hosted by Dr. James Spencer, president of the D. L. Moody Center and author of Digital Discernment (InterVarsity Press). Each conversation reads the Bible as the final authority for life and faith, questioning the assumptions of our culture, even our Christian culture, so that we don’t settle for a narrower vision than God’s word offers.

Unsettling convention. Cultivating conviction.
Episodes, articles, and questions: thinkingchristian.org
About James Spencer: thinkingchristian.org/james
The Thinking Christian Framework: thinkingchristian.org/framework
Order Digital Discernment: amazon.com

Subscribe: YouTube · Apple Podcasts · Spotify
Advertising and partnership inquiries: info@thinkingchristian.org

Can pastors endorse political candidates? Troy Miller, president and CEO of National Religious Broadcasters, explains NRB&rsquo;s Johnson Amendment lawsuit against the IRS.
The Johnson Amendment was added to the tax code in 1954 by then Senator Lyndon B. Johnson. It bars 501(c)(3) organizations, including churches, from endorsing or opposing political candidates. Miller explains why NRB went to court in 2024 and why the case was narrowed to pastors speaking to their congregations. He also explains how a consent decree with the Justice Department now depends on an appeal to the Fifth Circuit over the Anti-Injunction Act. He and James clarify what the case would and would not change for churches, broadcasters, and podcasters.
The conversation questions the assumption that keeping faith out of public life produces neutrality. Miller argues that someone&rsquo;s worldview always guides law and policy. He traces a long history of pastors speaking to moral questions, from the Black Robe Regiment to Martin Luther at the Diet of Worms. James weighs the risks of pastors speaking about candidates and why the case may matter most for local politics. He also notes the irony that for-profit corporations face fewer limits on political activity than nonprofits.
In this episode:
<ul dir="ltr">
<li>What is the Johnson Amendment, and how did Lyndon B. Johnson add it to the tax code in 1954?</li>
<li>Why National Religious Broadcasters sued the IRS, and what the consent decree with the Justice Department would protect</li>
<li>The Anti-Injunction Act and NRB&rsquo;s appeal to the Fifth Circuit</li>
<li>Martin Luther at the Diet of Worms, Jefferson&rsquo;s letter to the Danbury Baptists, and the separation of church and state</li>
<li>Why the case covers pastors and their broadcasts but not other Christian broadcasters or podcasters</li>
</ul>
Guest: Troy Miller, president and CEO of National Religious Broadcasters.
Go deeper: <a href="https://www.thinkingchristian.org/politics">Christians and Politics</a> About Troy Miller: <a href="https://www.thinkingchristian.org/guests/troy-miller">thinkingchristian.org/guests/troy-miller</a>
Thinking Christian is hosted by Dr. James Spencer, president of the D. L. Moody Center and author of Digital Discernment (InterVarsity Press). Each conversation reads the Bible as the final authority for life and faith, questioning the assumptions of our culture, even our Christian culture, so that we don&rsquo;t settle for a narrower vision than God&rsquo;s word offers.
Unsettling convention. Cultivating conviction. Episodes, articles, and questions: <a href="https://www.thinkingchristian.org/">thinkingchristian.org</a> About James Spencer: <a href="https://www.thinkingchristian.org/james">thinkingchristian.org/james</a> The Thinking Christian Framework: <a href="https://www.thinkingchristian.org/framework">thinkingchristian.org/framework</a> Order Digital Discernment: <a href="https://amzn.to/4zf0Xsm">amazon.com</a>
Subscribe: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@thinking_christian?sub_confirmation=1">YouTube</a> &middot; <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/thinking-christian-clear-theology-for-a-confusing-world/id1712162582">Apple Podcasts</a> &middot; <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/3PCi6K1PjPXzhrNVGAPTLX">Spotify</a> Advertising and partnership inquiries: <a href="mailto:info@thinkingchristian.org">info@thinkingchristian.org</a>

Unsettling convention. Cultivating conviction. Thinking Christian is a podcast about the Bible, theology, and culture for Christians who sense that something in today's church isn't working and want to understand why.

Reading the Bible as the final authority for life and faith means questioning the assumptions of our culture, even our Christian culture, so that we don't settle for a narrower vision of reality than God's word offers. Each conversation goes past the headlines to the ideas and inconspicuous patterns underneath them: how we read Scripture, what shapes our politics, how technology shapes us, what faithful discipleship looks like, and where familiar Christian habits don’t fit the patterns emerging from the biblical text.

Hosted by Dr. James Spencer, president of the D. L. Moody Center and author of Digital Discernment (InterVarsity Press), with co-host Dr. Ashish Varma. Episodes include guided series on Scripture, theology, and church history alongside conversations with scholars, pastors, and authors.

Calm, careful, and theological conversations for uncompromising faith.

Episodes, articles, and questions: thinkingchristian.org

Unsettling convention. Cultivating conviction. Thinking Christian is a podcast about the Bible, theology, and culture for Christians who sense that something in today's church isn't working and want to understand why. Reading the Bible as the final authority for life and faith means questioning the assumptions of our culture, even our Christian culture, so that we don't settle for a narrower vision of reality than God's word offers. Each conversation goes past the headlines to the ideas and inconspicuous patterns underneath them: how we read Scripture, what shapes our politics, how technology shapes us, what faithful discipleship looks like, and where familiar Christian habits don&rsquo;t fit the patterns emerging from the biblical text. Hosted by Dr. James Spencer, president of the D. L. Moody Center and author of Digital Discernment (InterVarsity Press), with co-host Dr. Ashish Varma. Episodes include guided series on Scripture, theology, and church history alongside conversations with scholars, pastors, and authors. Calm, careful, and theological conversations for uncompromising faith. Episodes, articles, and questions: <a href="http://thinkingchristian.org/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://thinkingchristian.org&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1793101185691000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0pRkBIb9TL81w5uxzgoS8C">thinkingchristian.org</a>

Thinking Christian with Dr. James Spencer reads the Bible as the final authority for life and faith, questioning the assumptions of our culture, even our Christian culture, so that we don’t settle for a narrower vision than God’s word offers. Each week, James, co-host Dr. Ashish Varma, and guests (biblical scholars, theologians, pastors, and authors) take up the questions Christians face: politics and Christian nationalism, technology and AI, biblical manhood, suffering and mental health, how to read Scripture well, and what faithful discipleship looks like now. Calm, careful, and grounded in the text. Unsettling convention. Cultivating conviction. Episodes, transcripts, articles, and questions: thinkingchristian.org

Thinking Christian: Bible, Theology, and Culture

Johnson Amendment Lawsuit: Can Pastors Endorse Candidates? (Troy Miller)

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/5e27a451-e6e6-4c51-aa03-a7370003783c/clips/214eb56e-77c0-41a8-ac64-b4ec013d09f7/transcript