Editing Christian right (section)

===Partisan activity of churches===
Overtly partisan actions by churches could threaten their 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status due to the [[Johnson Amendment]] of the Internal Revenue Code.<ref>{{cite web|title=Charities, Churches and Politics|url=https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=161131,00.html|publisher=Internal Revenue Service|access-date=July 5, 2011|archive-date=July 4, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110704130602/http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=161131,00.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> In one notable example, the former pastor of the [[East Waynesville Baptist Church]] in [[Waynesville, North Carolina]] "told the congregation that anyone who planned to vote for Democratic [[United States Senate|Sen.]] [[John Kerry]] should either leave the church or [[Repentance|repent]]".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-05-07-church-politics_x.htm|title= Democrats voted out of church because of their politics, members say|website=USA Today}}</ref> The church later expelled nine members who had voted for Kerry and refused to repent, which led to criticism on the national level. The pastor resigned and the ousted church members were allowed to return.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/16/national/16church.html Political Split Leaves a Church Sadder and Grayer], ''[[The New York Times]]'', May 15, 2005</ref>

The [[Alliance Defense Fund]], a Christian right group now known as the Alliance Defending Freedom, started the Pulpit Freedom Initiative<ref>{{cite news|last=Berlinerblau |first=Jacques |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/georgetown-on-faith/post/where-does-church-end-and-state-begin/2011/10/04/gIQAzy2RNL_blog.html |title=Where does church end and state begin? – Georgetown/On Faith |newspaper=The Washington Post |date= October 5, 2011|access-date=December 26, 2011}}</ref> in 2008. ADF states that "[t]he goal of Pulpit Freedom Sunday is simple: have the Johnson Amendment declared unconstitutional – and once and for all remove the ability of the IRS to censor what a pastor says from the pulpit."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://speakupmovement.org/church/LearnMore/details/5253 |title=Speak Up: Pulpit Freedom Sunday – History of the Pulpit Initiative |publisher=Speakupmovement.org |access-date=December 26, 2011 |archive-date=April 26, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120426072406/http://speakupmovement.org/church/LearnMore/details/5253 |url-status=dead }}</ref>