President Donald Trump opened the doors to politics in the pulpit Thursday with an executive order that drew mixed reactions from Minnesota's religious community.
Trump's order allows religious leaders to endorse and campaign for political candidates without risking their tax-exempt status. While it doesn't overturn the law that bars such political activity, the order directs the Internal Revenue Service to use "maximum enforcement discretion."
"We are giving churches their voices back," Trump said during a National Day of Prayer ceremony in the Rose Garden.
But many Minnesota religious leaders say the order opens the door to much more.
"We are concerned the order will pollute the integrity of the voice of faithful, turning some faith communities into partisan political tools under the banner of religion," said the Rev. Peg Chemberlin, CEO of the Minnesota Council of Churches. "This order signals a politicization of the faith community that our country has sought to avoid since the beginning of our nation."
However, the Minnesota Family Council, a St. Paul nonprofit best known for its lobbying efforts opposing abortion and same-sex marriage, called the order "a step in the right direction."
The "executive order restoring religious freedoms that were severely undermined by the previous administration is a very positive development," said CEO John Helmberger. "Without the liberty to exercise faith free of government interference and harassment, there is no freedom for anyone."
The council is among religious groups nationally that had lobbied against the restrictions in the so-called Johnson Amendment, a tax code provision prohibiting nonprofit organizations from endorsing or opposing political candidates. Trump had vowed during the campaign to reduce those restrictions, part of a pitch to religious conservatives, a key voting bloc in the elections.
"You are now in a position where you can say what you want to say," he said Thursday.
The order is unlikely to have a major impact in Minnesota, because most church leaders don't want to endorse candidates from the pulpit, said Carl Nelson, executive director of Transform Minnesota, a coalition of about 360 evangelical churches.
"I welcome the president's commitment to protecting and promoting religious liberty," Nelson said. "But most pastors recognize that within their congregations there are members with different persuasions. Pastors want to unify people around the church, rather than divide them by politics."
For some, not enough
The president's message of support for religious institutions fell short of what some conservative faith leaders were expecting from Trump and his administration.
Those leaders, some of whom were in the audience for Trump's announcement, had hoped for a broadly worded executive order that would free religious institutions from Obama-era regulations intended to protect gays, lesbians and others from discrimination. Such an order could have given religious-based adoption agencies, hospice providers and housing programs that get federal funds more leeway to refuse services to some people.
But the president's order made no mention of sexual orientation or identity, officials said. Instead, it provided a vague promise that it is the policy of Trump's administration to protect religious liberty, with no mention of how it intends to do that.
Prayer, not politics
For many people of faith, the executive order wasn't a big deal, but the National Day of Prayer was. At "Unite," a gathering outside U.S. Bank Stadium in downtown Minneapolis on Thursday evening, few if any of the 500 to 600 people in attendance knew or cared about it.
People old and young, black and white raised their voices in song and their hands in prayer. Giant speakers thumped with music and fiery speeches praising Jesus.
Heather Schultz and Callie Humphrey, both of Bloomington, came "just to be with fellow believers to pray, to see God move in our city," Schultz said. "There's so much power in prayer," Humphrey added.
Paul Weisenburger of Inver Grove Heights came with his daughter, Liz. "We all serve one Lord," he said. "It's great to come together as a fan of God and put aside our differences."
Staff writer Pat Pheifer and the New York Times contributed to this report.
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