Religious Liberty: Trump’s Executive Order Protecting Pastors

Speaking from a pulpit about any political subject has been an overwhelming fear by many Pastors and Clergy in our nation.  To countless ministers across America, the fear of losing a church’s tax-exempt status by means of engaging in any political talk was not worth risking as liberalism and secularism in America aimed to trump our very First Constitutional Amendment Right.  Coupled with the regular misquote of an out-of-context allegation lacking understanding of Jefferson’s expression to the Danbury Baptist Church in 1809, has been the cause for suppressing the very same right that allows us to preach; the misquoted “Separation of church and state.”  False claims of a letter that was never part of the Constitution scare away a man of God from exercising his real constitutional right. An inalienable right that refers to a right that cannot be surrendered, and clearly establishes that no legislators shall “make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech … and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

Christian Evangelicals in the United States have much to thank President Donald J. Trump for his bold support respecting religious and political speech. The very same speech that the secular left wishes to silence as we proclaim our inherent Hispanic Conservative values.  However, as one of the first significant moves by our President in favor of God-fearing citizens, and in line with promoting law and justice, he passed the “Presidential Executive Order Promoting Free Speech and Religious Liberty.” This Executive Order, directs all executive departments of the government as the Department of Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), to “respect and protect the freedom of persons and organizations to engage in religious and political speech.” It forbids these departments like the IRS from taking “any adverse action against any individual, house of worship, or other religious organization on the basis that such individual or organization speaks or has spoken about moral or political issues from a religious perspective.” No longer do we have to fear to speak the truth of the Gospel from our pulpits and in particular social issues that the Church and Conservatives have upheld for millennia. This EO forbids the imposition of any tax or tax penalties or the denial or delay of tax-exempt status, as the IRS did during the Obama administration.

Again, we can thank President Trump for stopping the longtime fearmongering by unscrupulous individuals and lawmakers who threatened the integrity and power of our Constitution. So Pastors, go and preach the truth of the Gospel without any fear. Let us educate our congregations on speaking and supporting the conservative values that we treasure the most.