On Thursday, USA President Donald Trump signed an executive order meant to allow churches and other religious organizations to become more active politically, though, according to sources, the actual implications of the document appeared limited.
Since the leak of a draft of this order three months ago, it has been the subject of many hopes on the right and many fears on the left.
According to the administration, the order has two goals.
First, President Trump has claimed that he would “destroy” the Johnson Amendment, a federal tax law that prohibits non-profit organizations from, among other things, endorsing or opposing political candidates.
Religious-right activists have long criticized this law as infringing their speech.
The Johnson Amendment, says that churches can be investigated and lose their tax-exempt status if they directly support or oppose any political candidate.
Since he cannot repeal the law without congressional legislation, Mr Trump is directing the IRS to “exercise maximum enforcement discretion to alleviate the burden of the Johnson Amendment”.
Few religious groups are known to have lost their tax status for violating the law, despite many churches openly advocating for political causes and hosting candidates during their campaigns, according to BBC.
During remarks Thursday, Trump said the order would prevent religious groups from being singled out for their political views.
“We will not allow people of faith to be targeted, bullied or silenced anymore,” Trump proclaimed, which were marking the National Day of Prayer. “And we will never, ever stand for religious discrimination. Never, ever.” He said, as quoted by CNN.
The order also directs federal agencies to exempt some religious groups from providing birth control to employees and staff, as required under President Obama’s Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.
Their guidelines for women’s health provide for nine recommended services, including the screening for breast cancer and gestational diabetes. Under the Affordable Care Act, health plans and insurers need to provide the same services to their customers, as the HCRA requires for services to the uninsured.
Of those nine services, only contraceptive services are controversial. And the law already provides exclusions from the contraceptive mandate for religious employers.
In a letter delivered to House and Senate leaders last month, a group of religious leaders argued against scrapping the Johnson amendment, citing similar concerns that such a move could turn religious groups into political organizations.
“The charitable sector, particularly houses of worship, should not become another cog in a political machine or another loophole in campaign finance laws,” the group wrote.
So, to summarize, the executive order:
- Requires the government to “consider,” but not necessarily change the law.
- The contraception mandate will remain, though there may be a “conscience-based exception” for some.
- Such exceptions already exist.
Finally, here’s what the order doesn’t do:
- It does not provide a conscience exception for businesses to discriminate against LGBT persons.
- It does not alter the interpretation of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act
- It does not give individuals the right to purchase health care from a plan or insurer that refuses to provide abortions
- It does not require accommodations to government employees who refuse to do their job because of religious beliefs.
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