The Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) has issued a call to the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) urgently demanding that the tax-exempt status of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) be revoked for what they alleged was “illegal political campaigning.”
The FFRF, which exists in large part to weaponize the legal system against Christian ministries and their political influence, used an upcoming issue of Decision Magazine as supposed evidence of BGEA’s “intervention in the election.”
In the letter sent last Friday, the group decried Decision Magazine for encouraging its readers to “vote for candidates who best align with and stand for Biblical principles.”
The FFRF enclosed a copy of the magazine issue, the cover of which has images of Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump with the words “Socialism vs. Freedom.” Within the magazine, the FFRF pointed to what they painted as damning comments from Franklin Graham, who highlighted the moral stakes of the upcoming election: “Progressive, liberal thought and activism have so contaminated the mainstream of American life and culture that once-unthinkable abominations such as same-sex marriage, abortion on demand and transgender advocacy have become dogma in one major party’s platform.”
The letter called for an immediate investigation by the IRS, asserting that “The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association has breached the responsibilities of its tax exempt status by publishing an election guide that gives the clear impression that it favors one candidate over the other and one party over the other.”
Despite the FFRF taking the time in their letter to the IRS to applaud themselves for taking its own tax-exempt status “very seriously,” as Joshua Arnold, writing for the Washington Stand, pointed out, it takes “less than five minutes on the FFRF’s own website to find the same sort of politically slanted commentary that they claimed was grounds for revoking the BGEA’s tax-exempt status.”
FFRF doesn’t have much of a case, Arnold stated, adding that their only hope of succeeding in their attack will be finding IRS agents like-minded in their anti-Christian bias.
“The Biden administration has not been shy about lawlessly persecuting its political opponents. And the National Treasury Employees Union, which represents IRS employees among other federal agencies, endorsed Harris for president last week,” he wrote.
However, Arnold further stressed that “even sympathetic bureaucrats would likely worry that their expansive new standard for nuking nonprofits would inflict significant collateral damage on left-wing organizations, too—not to mention the obvious free speech concerns, which could result in unnecessary legal defeats.”
Franklin Graham released a statement following the FFRF’s letter, underscoring that “this isn’t the first time we’ve been attacked by this activist group, and it won’t be the last.”
“I don’t tell people who to vote for, but I do encourage Christians to pray and vote,” he continued. “I believe we have a responsibility to help people understand where former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris stand on Biblical issues and religious freedom.”
“[There is] nothing illegal about encouraging believers to vote for the candidate who best aligns with and stands for Biblical principles,” Graham emphasized. “Every other group of people in this country has the right to do this — Christians shouldn’t be the one group denied that same right.”
While the FFRF targets Christians in the name of the “separation of church and state,” Pastor Gary Hamrick recently explained that the First Amendment of the US Constitution is widely “misinterpreted.”
“The First Amendment was intended to keep government out of the church, not the church out of government,” Hamrick described. “When Thomas Jefferson wrote his letter in 1802 to the Danbury Baptists in Connecticut, he was interpreting the constitutional rights that churches had to be involved in politics. The separation of church and state was intended to help churches and Christians realize that the government can’t intrude, not the other way around.”
“Today, you have pastors who just don’t want to be controversial,” he said, “Let me tell you something: anytime you step into the arena of truth, it will sound controversial to some people. As pastors, we must continue to urge our congregations. And as Christians, you must be active, not silent, in the pews. Get out and make your voices heard and your values known.”
In a previous interview with Tony Perkins, President of the Family Research Council, Franklin Graham stated that when it comes to Christians’ responsibility to prayerfully vote, “this is the time for the church to stand.”
“We’re all going to get attacked no matter what we do if we stand for God’s Word. If we stand for truth, we will be attacked,” he told Perkins, adding, “We’ve got to have thick skin.”
“Don’t just stand and be quiet. It’s time for the pastors to preach it from the pulpits,” Graham urged. “The worst thing that could happen is for the Lord Jesus Christ to come back and find us sitting on our hands and keeping our mouths shut. When He comes back, I hope he finds us fighting and standing for truth.”
While highlighting that America is in “a free fall of moral decline,” Graham reminded the audience that “the church can help slow this down” by standing for God’s Word despite opposition.
