9/23/11: Pastors Don’t Want Government Controlling Sermons

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According to a new survey, nine out of ten Protestant pastors don’t want the government regulating their sermons.

The Alliance Defense Fund and LifeWay Research conducted the study and found that the vast majority of pastors do not believe the government should interfere with sermons under the threat of revoking their tax-exempt status. That’s been the fear of many since 1954 when the Johnson amendment passed.

In the survey, 1,000 randomly selected senior pastors were asked about their agreement with the statement: “The government should regulate sermons by revoking a church’s tax exemption if its pastor approves of or criticizes candidates based on the church’s moral beliefs or theology.” Eighty-six percent disagreed with the statement, and 79 percent strongly disagreed.