Can Missouri churches endorse or oppose amendments or candidates? What the laws say
Churches and other houses of worship are inseparable from Missouri’s political landscape — both as community gathering spaces and as institutions that impart moral and ethical messages that are often closely linked to politics.
But religious institutions have to be careful of the messages they impart, as veering too overtly political can risk their tax-exempt status.
So can a pastor, rabbi, imam or other religious leader tell parishioners to vote for or against Amendment 3 on abortion rights or endorse a candidate for governor? Here’s what Missouri and federal laws say about the political statements religious institutions are allowed to make.
What types of political statements can churches make in Missouri?
Since 1954, federal law has prohibited religious institutions like churches from making statements that favor or oppose political candidates.
That’s because churches are tax-exempt nonprofit organizations, which the law specifies “may not participate in, or intervene in (including the publishing or distributing of statements), any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office.”
However, this restriction doesn’t fully apply to lobbying for particular issues or pieces of legislation.
According to the IRS, “churches and other 501(c)(3) organizations can engage in a limited amount of lobbying (including ballot measures) and advocate for or against issues that are in the political arena” without losing their tax-exempt status. That means churches can weigh in on issues like Amendment 3 and other political topics as long as this messaging doesn’t make up a “substantial part” of their role as an organization.
While churches and other nonprofits can weigh in on political issues, they have to be careful not to tacitly endorse candidates whose campaigns are defined by those issues.
“501(c)(3) organizations must avoid any issue advocacy that functions as political campaign intervention,” the IRS writes. For instance, if one candidate is running on a staunchly anti-abortion platform, telling parishioners to vote against abortion rights in an upcoming election involving that candidate could constitute prohibited political speech.
Federal law specifies that religious leaders are allowed to speak out on political issues and candidates in their role as private citizens, but can’t do so on behalf of their churches or at church-run events. Churches and other nonprofit groups can also host candidate forums, debates or talks, as long as they give all candidates for a given office an equal opportunity to address their members.
All these rules govern how religious organizations are supposed to behave under federal law to maintain their tax-exempt status. But in reality, they can be subjective and difficult to enforce. A 2022 report from the Texas Tribune and ProPublica found that the IRS largely fails to discipline churches that make overt endorsements of political candidates.
Can churches post political signs if they are also polling places?
Even if you don’t attend a church yourself, your polling place may be inside one: Three out of the six early voting locations in Kansas City for the 2024 general election are Christian churches.
The same rules that apply to all polling places apply to churches being used for this purpose: No political messages of any kind can be posted inside the building or within 25 feet of the entrance. This would constitute “electioneering,” which is illegal in and around polling locations.
Churches being used as polling places can’t post their own signs endorsing political candidates, but they can allow campaigns to post signs on their property as long as they stay 25 feet away from the entrance in Missouri. In Kansas, all electioneering must be at least 250 feet away from the entrance to any polling place.
Do you have more questions about the upcoming election in Missouri or Kansas? Ask the Service Journalism team at kcq@kcstar.com.
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