Road to Nowhere: N.C. Pastor Endorsed Trump in Hopes of Getting ‘Dual Citizenship’ Through the UN
Earlier this month, a church in Charlotte, N.C., raised eyebrows when its leaders announced that it would hold a “Day of Endorsement” for Republican presidential candidate Donald J. Trump.
Antioch Road to Glory International Ministry’s Aug. 7 event featured Lara Trump, wife of Trump’s son Eric, and other Trump supporters. This activity, which the church promoted through the media, would seem to be a clear violation of the federal law that bars tax-exempt, 501(c)(3) groups from endorsing or opposing candidates for political office.
In this case, there is a curious wrinkle: The church, on its Facebook page, asserts that the ministry is not tax-exempt.
Call me skeptical of that claim. Houses of worship in the United States are granted tax exemption by dint of their existence. They are assumed to have it as soon as they form. Unlike secular non-profits, they don’t have to apply for it. (This is just one of the special privileges federal law grants to religious groups in this country where, according to the Religious Right, faith organizations are “persecuted.”)
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