Menu
Tax Notes logo

Freedom From Religion Requests IRS Investigation of Church

NOV. 15, 2021

Freedom From Religion Requests IRS Investigation of Church

DATED NOV. 15, 2021
DOCUMENT ATTRIBUTES
  • Authors
    Ziegler, Madeline
  • Institutional Authors
    Freedom From Religion Foundation
  • Code Sections
  • Subject Area/Tax Topics
  • Industry Groups
    Nonprofit sector
  • Jurisdictions
  • Tax Analysts Document Number
    2021-43212
  • Tax Analysts Electronic Citation
    2021 TNTF 220-16
    2021 EOR 12-33
  • Magazine Citation
    The Exempt Organization Tax Review, Dec. 2021, p. 421
    88 Exempt Org. Tax Rev. 421 (2021)

November 15, 2021

IRS EO Classification
1100 Commerce
St. Dallas, TX 75242-1198

Re: Illegal Politicking by Church

To Whom It May Concern:

I am writing on behalf of the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) to alert you to possible illegal partisan politicking by the Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, Texas. We were contacted by a concerned local resident. FFRF is a national nonprofit organization with more than 35,000 members across the country. FFRF protects the constitutional separation between state and church, and educates about nontheism.

We were informed that Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, Texas recently hosted an event called “ReAwaken America,” linked to the QAnon conspiracy, that included the political chant, “Let's Go Brandon.”1 Video shows hundreds of congregants packing the pews while chanting the phrase — a now well-known anti-Democrat euphemism for “F*ck Joe Biden” — under the apparent lead of those on stage at the church.2 We are concerned that the church may have been involved in organizing and sponsoring this event, especially since the church's pastor, John Hagee, is very politically active and notoriously had his endorsement of presidential candidate John McCain rejected because Hagee reportedly said that “Adolf Hitler had been fulfilling God's will by hastening the desire of Jews to return to Israel in accordance with biblical prophecy.”3

IRS regulations specify that 501(c)(3) organizations, which include churches and other religious organizations, are prohibited from “[participating in or intervening in] . . . any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office.” Rev. Rul. 2007-41, 2007-25 I.R.B. (June 28, 2007). Politicians and pastors using church services as a campaign tool to promote and endorse a specific candidate is a clear violation of these regulations.

Cornerstone Church appears to have inappropriately used its 501(c)(3) status to intervene in political campaigning, leading congregants in a chant against a politician in clear contemplation of his upcoming candidacy for re-election in 2024. It is a violation of IRS regulations to host political campaign events or to lead church-sponsored chants against one candidate, declaring a clear preference for a specific political candidate over another.

FFRF respectfully requests that the IRS commence an immediate investigation into Cornerstone Church. The IRS should take appropriate action to remedy any violations of 501(c)(3) regulations that occurred or which continue to occur.

Thank you for your time and attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

Madeline Ziegler
Staff Attorney
Freedom From Religion Foundation 
Madison, WI

FOOTNOTES

1See Ewan Palmer, 'Let's Go Brandon' Chanted at QAnon-Linked Church Event in Texas, Newsweek (Nov. 15, 2021), available at www.newsweek.com/lets-go-brandon-church-texas-qanon-1649141.

2See, e.g., twitter.com/patriottakes/status/1459699199931416581.

3CNN Politics, McCain rejects minister's endorsement (May 22, 2018), available at www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/05/22/mccain.hagee/.

END FOOTNOTES

DOCUMENT ATTRIBUTES
  • Authors
    Ziegler, Madeline
  • Institutional Authors
    Freedom From Religion Foundation
  • Code Sections
  • Subject Area/Tax Topics
  • Industry Groups
    Nonprofit sector
  • Jurisdictions
  • Tax Analysts Document Number
    2021-43212
  • Tax Analysts Electronic Citation
    2021 TNTF 220-16
    2021 EOR 12-33
  • Magazine Citation
    The Exempt Organization Tax Review, Dec. 2021, p. 421
    88 Exempt Org. Tax Rev. 421 (2021)
Copy RID