A short history of Sen Lyndon Johnson's IRS code amendment of 1954

In 1954, Senator Lyndon Baines Johnson of Texas had been bothered by radio preachers opposing him in his run for the Senate. In apparent response he submitted a floor amendment to ban all nonprofit groups from engaging in election political activity. Without hearing or public debate, his amendment passed the Senate on a voice vote and quickly became law — and churches across America suddenly found themselves stripped of a right exercised by clergymen from America’s founding.

This unconstitutional federal law has forced clergymen into silence when it comes to candidates for public office. It also gives IRS agents the authority to investigate and punish churches if pastors render biblical (not even political) judgment on a candidate’s fitness for public office. This is a direct violation of their First Amendment rights.