Will you see an IRS agent at mass tomorrow?

I came across a startling headline this morning: IRS Strikes Deal With Atheists To Monitor Sermons And Homilies.  The article, which referred to Lois “Fifth Amendment” Lerner, was obviously partisan, so I tried to get a fuller picture from the other side: the Freedom From Religion Foundation.  The FFRF declared victory in the voluntary dismissal of its federal suit against the IRS.  Basically, the FFRF complained that the IRS refused to enforce § 501(c)(3)’s electioneering restrictions against churches and religious institutions.  Under the restrictions, if an organization attempts to influence legislation or intervene in any political campaign on behalf of any candidate for public office, it loses its tax-exempt status.  After the IRS showed that it investigates the political actions of churches and will continue to do so, the FFRF agreed to dismiss the suit.

So is the first headline simply hyperbolic fear-mongering?  Yes and no.  The FFRF’s suit emphasized the “Pulpit Freedom Sunday” practices of certain churches.  The Alliance Defending Freedom described Pulpit Freedom Sunday as a “strategic litigation plan”—pastors would preach about the intersection of the political realm and scriptural Truth on a certain day, and presumably IRS would revoke their churches’ tax-exempt status, thus triggering a First Amendment lawsuit.  So the agreement reached by the FFRF and IRS means that the IRS will likely monitor the sermons on Pulpit Freedom Sunday, which is the goal of Pulpit Freedom Sunday in the first place.  The more troubling implication for me is that the IRS will monitor sermons that aren't part of a strategic litigation plan.  And the possibility of IRS monitoring will have a chilling effect on preaching, which is at the heart of religious exercise.  So if you care about the First Amendment, keep an eye on this story.

My husband brought up an interesting point: the IRS is using our tax dollars to monitor sermons.  Even people who are not as keen on the First Amendment right to free exercise of religion as I am have to admit that paying government employees overtime to listen to pastors on Sundays might not be the best use of funds.

I’ll end this post with a hearty congratulations to Meg Sweeney, who is more passionate about the First Amendment than anyone else I know.  Yesterday, she got engaged to Brett Bean, another illustrious Notre Dame lawyer.  We at So Proudly We Hailed are thrilled for you both!