Tag Archives: ADF: Erik Stanley

Philantropy Today: Every pastor and every church has the right to decide what their pastor preaches from the pulpit and to not have that dictated to them by the IRS,” said Erik Stanley, a lawyer with the Alliance Defending Freedom, an Arizona group backing the effort.

Huffington Post: “Every pastor and every church has the right to decide what their pastor preaches from the pulpit and to not have that dictated to them by the IRS,” said Erik Stanley, senior legal counsel for the Arizona-based Alliance Defending Freedom, formerly the Alliance Defense Fund.

CBN (includes video): “Every pastor and every church has the right to decide what their pastor preaches from the pulpit and to not have that dictated to them by the IRS,” the ADF attorney Erik Stanley said.

One News Now: Erik Stanley, an attorney with Alliance Defending Freedom, supports the event. “Pulpit Freedom Sunday has really become a nationwide movement of pastors who are reclaiming their constitutional right to decide what is said from their pulpits — and to not be intimidated when they stand and proclaim biblical truth, even in the realm of politics and in candidates and elections,” says Stanley. “These pastors are believing that politicians should not get a free pass from moral and biblical scrutiny during election season.” [more]

Anugrah Kumar at the Christian Post (Oct. 8): “Pastors should decide what they preach from the pulpit, not the IRS,” Senior Legal Counsel Erik Stanley said in the statement. “It’s outrageous for pastors and churches to be threatened or punished by the government for applying biblical teachings to all areas of life, including candidates and elections. The question is, ‘Who should decide the content of sermons: pastors or the IRS?’”

Erik Stanley on GraceNet Radio’s Vocal Point with Jerry Newcombe to discuss Pulpit Freedom Sunday.| MP3 audio 27:13 mins

Erik Stanley appeared on The Greg Davis Show to discuss the Pulpit Initiative. | MP3 audio 20:35 mins

WBRZ.com (video embedded): The group called Alliance Defending Freedom is asking preachers to deliver a political sermon this Sunday. The Family of Faith Church of Baton Rouge is one of 32 churches that have already signed up; even though the pastors know that they could see trouble come tax time. “All through college and all through seminary that’s what I heard. You can’t speak on political issues because if you do, you lose your tax exempt status for your church and your members can’t take their tithes,” says Family of Faith Church pastor Joel Davis.

WorldNetDaily: The Alliance Defending Freedom contends the AU letter is misleading and disingenuous, explaining that the church in New York had its “determination letter” revoked, not its “tax exempt” status. The distinction is crucial, ADF told WND, because there was basically no effect on the church from this IRS action. Erik Stanley, senior legal counsel for Americans Defending Freedom, told WND that churches don’t need a determination letter from the IRS to be considered tax-exempt. “IRS section 508(c)1 (a) automatically exempts churches, and no advance determination letter is necessary,” he explained.

Bloomberg Editors: No pastor has been punished or threatened with punishment by the IRS for participating in Pulpit Freedom Sunday,” wrote Erik Stanley, senior legal counsel for the Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative group backing the protest. And that, Stanley told FoxNews.com last week, is precisely the problem. “We’re hoping the IRS will respond by doing what they have threatened,” he said. “We have to wait for it to be applied to a particular church or pastor so that we can challenge it in court. We don’t think it’s going to take long for a judge to strike this down as unconstitutional.”

Eric Stanley appears in the short video embedded at the Speak Up Movement Church Blog. | PulpitFreedom.org

Erik Stanley on the Bill Post Radio Show to discuss Pulpit Freedom Sunday. | MP3 audio 15:35 mins

Erik Stanley on Called2Action with Steve Noble to discuss Pulpit Freedom Sunday. | MP3 audio 15:36 mins

Maureen McDermott Gill at Journal Tribune: This Sunday, Oct. 7, is “Pulpit Freedom Sunday,” a nationwide event sponsored by the Alliance Defending Freedom, an organization providing legal services to churches and individuals who want “greater religious freedom,” as they say. What these churches really want, however, is the unbridled freedom to influence American politics. Unlike the rest of us, who are allowed to express opinions about American politics, work for certain candidates, and attempt to influence others to our way of thinking, churches want to do it without making any monetary contributions to actually run the government that protects their freedoms. Pursuant to the IRS, churches are exempted from taxation – provided they stay the hell out of politics. The churches don’t like that . . . As far as I’m concerned, the clergy of any denomination can say whatever they want, but I don’t want to subsidize them to do so.

Pastor Jim Garlow and Erik Stanley appeared on Wallbuilders Live to discuss Pulpit Freedom Sunday. | MP3 audio 21:54 mins | What is the Black Robed Regiment?

Erik Stanley on WYDE with Lee Davis to discuss Pulpit Freedom Sunday. | MP3 audio mins 21:27

Erik Stanley Appeared on Stand Up for the Truth Mike LeMay and Amy Spreeman to discuss the Pulpit Initiative. | MP3 audio 21 mins

More than 1,200 pastors to dispute unconstitutional tax rule
as part of Pulpit Freedom Sunday

Erik Stanley appeared on the Mike Gallagher Show to discuss Pulpit Freedom Sunday. | MP3 audio 6:12 mins

One News Now: “It’s outrageous for pastors and churches to be threatened or punished by the government for applying biblical teaching to all areas of life, including candidates and elections,” Stanley contends. “The real question is who should decide the content of sermons: pastors or the IRS?”

One News Now: The purpose is to make sure the pastor, not the IRS, decides what is said from the pulpit. Alliance Defending Freedom attorney Erik Stanley tells OneNewsNow that this more of a problem than people realize. “A lot of people may not realize it, but since 1954, the IRS has inserted itself into the process of what is said from the pulpit and has punished and threatened to punish churches for something the pastor says that may issue support or opposition for one candidate or another,” he explains.

LifeNews: “Pastors should decide what they preach from the pulpit, not the IRS,” said Senior Legal Counsel Erik Stanley of ADF. “It’s outrageous for pastors and churches to be threatened or punished by the government for applying biblical teachings to all areas of life, including candidates and elections. The question is, ‘Who should decide the content of sermons: pastors or the IRS?’” “No government-recognized status can be conditioned upon the surrender of a constitutionally protected right,” Stanley explained. “No one would suggest a pastor give up his church’s tax-exempt status if he wants to keep his constitutional protection against illegal search and seizure or cruel and unusual punishment. Likewise, no one should be asking him to give up his church’s tax-exempt status to be able to keep his constitutionally protected right to free speech.”

The New American: A small army of pastors across America is planning to defy the IRS rules against politics in the pulpit by participating in what they are calling “Pulpit Freedom Sunday” October 7. The event, which is being organized by Alliance Defending Freedom, will target the 1954 IRS statute, called the Johnson Amendment, that prohibits tax-exempt organizations, including churches, from endorsing candidates for office. “The purpose is to make sure that the pastor, and not the IRS, decides what is said from the pulpit,” said Erik Stanley, an ADF spokesman. “It is a head-on constitutional challenge.”

Nathan Cherry at Engage Family Minute (links to audio): It’s undebatable that America has benefited greatly from the influence of pastors over the years. But, are today’s pulpits free? Attorneys from the Alliance Defending Freedom don’t think so and they are using Pulpit Freedom Sunday as a way to protect not only the proper role of the church in our society, but also your right to hear and speak the truth of the Gospel. On Today’s episode of Engaging the Issues, senior legal counsel for the Alliance Defending Freedom explains what pastors can do to protect religious freedom and why they should.

Erik Stanley and Barry Arrington appeared on Crosswalk KRKS with Gino Geraci to discuss the Pulpit Initiative. | MP3 audio 19:03 mins

Pastor Jim Garlow, Erik Stanley of the Alliance Defending Freedom, and Barry Lynn of Americans United for Separation of Church and State appeared on Air Talk KPCC 89.3 Southern Cal. Public Radio to discuss Pulpit Freedom Sunday. | MP3 audio 16:04 mins

WSET ABC 13 (includes video): The group Alliance Defending Freedom says it’s the pastor’s job, not the IRS, to determine what is said from the pulpit. The group is also asking pastors to send their sermons to the IRS, in hopes a court battle ensues.

Christian Institute (includes video): Erik Stanley of Alliance Defending Freedom said: “It’s very ironic that a group with ‘separation of church and state’ in its name is arguing for more governmental monitoring and control of churches. “That’s not the separation of church and state. These letters are nothing more than intimidation tactics.

Opposing Views: Pulpit Freedom Sunday was organized by the conservative Christian group Alliance Defending Freedom. Erik Stanley, senior legal counsel for the group, told FoxNews.com: “The purpose is to make sure that the pastor, and not the IRS, decides what is said from the pulpit. It is a head-on constitutional challenge.”

Christian Post: “The purpose is to make sure that the pastor — and not the IRS — decides what is said from the pulpit…It is a head-on constitutional challenge,” Erik Stanley, senior legal counsel for the ADF, told FoxNews.com.
Read more at http://global.christianpost.com/news/preachers-defend-free-speech-and-religious-freedom-with-pulpit-freedom-sunday-video-82004/#Azu4ctPW26J126OO.99

Nathan Cherry at the Engage Family Blog: On October 7th the Alliance Defending Freedom will host Pulpit Freedom Sunday . . . Erik Stanley, legal counsel with ADF said: “The purpose is to make sure that the pastor — and not the IRS — decides what is said from the pulpit. It is a head-on constitutional challenge…We’re hoping the IRS will respond by doing what they have threatened. We have to wait for it to be applied to a particular church or pastor so that we can challenge it in court. We don’t think it’s going to take long for a judge to strike this down as unconstitutional.”

The Blaze (several videos embedded): In an effort to combat what many preachers believe to be a free-speech violation, they will engage in The Alliance Defending Freedom’s (ADF) Pulpit Freedom Sunday initiative. A description of the event explains, in detail, why the event was launched and what it intends to accomplish . . . “The purpose is to make sure that the pastor — and not the IRS — decides what is said from the pulpit,” Erik Stanley, senior legal counsel for ADF, said in an interview with Fox News. “It is a head-on constitutional challenge.” [more]

Fox News (video): More than 1,000 pastors are planning to challenge the IRS next month by deliberately preaching politics ahead of the presidential election despite a federal ban on endorsements from the pulpit . . . “The purpose is to make sure that the pastor — and not the IRS — decides what is said from the pulpit,” Erik Stanley, senior legal counsel for the group, told FoxNews.com. “It is a head-on constitutional challenge.”

One News Now: Erik Stanley of Alliance Defending Freedom says Americans United is trying to frighten churches into silence about elections and “moral and biblical issues confronting the candidates.” “But the reality is that no pastor should ever fear the IRS or Americans United for that matter when they stand in their pulpit to preach biblical truth,” Stanley asserts. “That’s our message, and … no church or pastor should be afraid of these letters that are being sent out by Americans United.”

Alan Sears at the Alliance Defending Freedom Blog: Federal law specifically prohibits zoning officials from subjecting religious organizations to this type of unequal treatment,” says Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Legal Counsel Erik Stanley. “Upper Arlington will allow other groups to occupy a building in this zone, but it won’t allow this school. “No city should use its zoning code to discriminate against a Christian school and keep its students in inferior and overcrowded facilities,” Stanley says. “A city’s zoning code cannot give preferential treatment to non-religious institutions that function similarly to a Christian school.”

One News Now: Erik Stanley of Alliance Defending Freedom says the city’s zoning codes favor nonreligious businesses and organizations. “So, for instance, a daycare or other nonprofit use could go into that building and use it without having to obtain zoning permission, [but] the Tree of Life is not able to go in to use the building as a private school,” he explains. “That’s just discriminatory and violates the religious land use law, and that’s why we brought the lawsuit in the first place.”

Christian Post: “People in America are allowed to debate these issues except for pastors from the pulpit,” said Erik W. Stanley, senior legal counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom, on Family Talk last week. “The pastors of America, your voices need to be heard on these vital issues. It’s unjust, it’s unconstitutional that you’ve been censored and taken out of the public debate every time an election season rolls around.
“This restriction must be declared unconstitutional.”

Erik Stanley and Pastor Jim Garlow appeared on James Dobson’s Family Ralk Radio to discuss Pulpit Freedom Sunday to be held on October 7, 2012. | MP3 audio 25:23 mins

Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys filed an appeal today on behalf of Tree of Life Christian Schools against the city of Upper Arlington for refusing to grant the school a permit to use its own new building

Upper Arlington News: A federal judge sided with the city last week in a discrimination lawsuit filed by the Alliance Defense Fund — now called Alliance Defending Freedom — on behalf of Tree of Life Christian School . . . Erik Stanley, an attorney with the Alliance Defending Freedom, said the group is considering its options.”We’re still studying the ruling,” Stanley said. “No decisions have been at this point about what our next step will be.” [more]

Christian Post: Earlier this year, the Alliance Defense Fund filed suit against Rockdale on behalf of New Generation over the county’s zoning laws, which forbid churches from meeting on property smaller than three acres. “Government officials should not use zoning restrictions to close down religious services of small, start-up churches, so we commend the county for agreeing to a court order that allows this church to meet while the case moves forward,” said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Erik Stanley in a statement. “It’s unconstitutional and a violation of federal law to target churches with these kinds of zoning restrictions. Small ministries like this one shouldn’t be forced underground simply because they can’t afford a property of more than three acres.”

One News Now: Erik Stanley, an ADF attorney, explains why the county ordinance needs to be addressed. “Under the city’s rules, only non-religious groups and large, wealthy churches can find an adequate place to meet — and that just doesn’t make sense,” he says. “This is exactly why federal law protects churches from such arbitrary and subjective zoning decisions. We hope the city will change its zoning regulations and eliminate the need to continue this case.”

Rockdale County agreed to a federal court injunction issued Friday that allows a church to temporarily reconvene in a building where the county previously denied access because the property was less than three acres in size.

Erik Stanley on the Zeb Bell Show to discuss the situation. | MP3 audio 14:35 mins

God Discussion (video embedded): The Alliance Defending Freedom (formerly the Alliance Defense Fund, ADF) is gearing up for Pulpit Freedom Sunday scheduled for October 7. In a video published on YouTube this week, the organization’s senior legal counsel, Erik Stanley, says . . .

One News Now: “Government officials shouldn’t use zoning restrictions to close down religious services of small, start-up churches,” argues ADF attorney Erik Stanley. “Not only is it irresponsible to target small ministries dedicated to serving the community, it’s unconstitutional and violates federal law.

Erik Stanley at the Speak Up Movement Church Blog: Where did America’s churches ever get the idea that it was okay to invite IRS officials into the process of sermon preparation and allow them to wield the power of censorship over what your pastor says from the pulpit? Such a regime is not okay, and indeed, it is unconstitutional.

One News Now: Attorney Erik Stanley of the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) says the complaints are “the same tiresome claims from a group that is intent on bullying churches and intimidating them into silence.” “What this pastor did in Kentucky was nothing more than to exercise his constitutional right to speak freely from his pulpit,” Stanley asserts. “No pastor anywhere should ever have to fear the IRS, or Americans United or any other group for that matter when they stand and they speak biblical truth in the pulpit. That’s all this pastor was doing.”

Erik Stanley at the Speak Up Movement Church Blog: The Devon Park United Methodist Church in Wilmington, North Carolina, served as a polling place and also put a message on its church sign that read, “A true marriage is male and female and God.” Voters saw the sign on their way in to vote and some complained about the message. One woman even called the message on the sign “voter intimidation.” . . . The elections board for the county where the church is located plans to address the issue of the church’s sign in the coming days.

One News Now: ADF attorney Erik Stanley weighs in on the issue. “Public monuments to those who gave the ultimate sacrifice should not be dismantled because a few offended activists want to scrub the public square clean of anything that hints of religion,” says Stanley . . . ADF attorney Joe Infranco says that complaint is getting old. “The idea that this 91-year-old memorial is unconstitutional is a tiresome claim from a radical group that has dreamed of a purely secularized society for years,” states Infranco.

Erik Stanley at the

Christian Post: Erik Stanley, senior legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, also believes the law is unconstitutional. He told CP in an emailed statement that Hutchinson appears to want to “force churches back into their own four walls.” “It is the church that decides what is acceptable for itself under its religious doctrine and it is not the government’s role to force a church to violate that doctrine,” he said. “This ordinance should never pass because it is unconstitutional. But if it does and Hutchinson attempts to force churches to violate their religious beliefs, ADF will not hesitate to use the legal process to protect the constitutional rights of churches.”

Erik Stanley at the Speak Up Movement Church Blog: As readers of this blog know, ADF has conducted Pulpit Freedom Sunday since 2008. Pulpit Freedom Sunday is a legal project designed to restore a pastor’s right to speak freely from the pulpit without fearing government censorship or control. The government, by applying the Johnson Amendment to churches and pastors, has been mandating that certain content in a pastor’s sermon is off-limits and can result in penalties against the church.

Baptist Press: Erik Stanley, senior legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, says that pastors and congregations have nothing to fear. Under IRS law, churches cannot endorse candidates but they can lobby for specific legislation — here, ballot initiatives — provided that the time and money spent doing so is less than 5 percent of their overall operation and budget, Stanley said. “I cannot foresee any situation where a church would come anywhere close to violating that prohibition,” Stanley told Baptist Press of the 5 percent limit. “Essentially, a church would have to devote itself almost wholeheartedly to lobbying efforts in order to be at risk.”

Times Union: There was a verdict in the wrenching Rutgers webcam spying case, but no resolution to a broader question that hovered over it: To what extent are hate crime laws a help or a hindrance in the pursuit of justice? . . . “These laws serve only one purpose — they criminalize thoughts and beliefs that are not considered politically correct,” said Erik Stanley, senior legal counsel with the Alliance Defense Fund. “There’s a clash and a conflict — I don’t know that it’s here yet, but it’s coming — with freedom of expression and freedom of religion,” Stanley said.

Acton Institute: As society becomes more secularized, the calls for churches to pay their “fair share” become more vocal. Erik Stanley, senior legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, explains why churches should remain exempt from paying taxes . . .

ADF Attorney Erik Stanley at Baptist Press: Why is your church tax exempt? Why should it continue to be tax exempt? If I were to sit down and ask you these questions, would you have a clear and coherent answer? I suspect this is something we seldom think about. After all, tax exemption for churches has always been given and we assume, because of its historical longevity, it always will be given.

ADF Attorney Erik Stanley at the Speak Up Movement Church Blog: As I recently posted, there are very good reasons why churches should be tax exempt. One Nashville church, though, found that its attempts to reach out to the poor and needy in the community resulted in a very large property tax bill. Their case is an example of the increasing attacks on church tax exemption.

ADF Attorney Erik Stanley at the Speak Up Movement Church Blog: The fact that most Americans cannot explain why their church is tax exempt indicates a forgotten history and is emblematic of a society that has systematically devalued the church as a beneficial societal institution.

ADF Attorney Erik Stanley at the Speak Up Movement Church Blog: The upshot of these cases is that even though churches are not required to apply for a tax exemption from the IRS, churches are still subject to the restrictions in section 501(c)(3) of the tax code. That means all churches are required to abide by 501(c)(3). And if you think about this logically, it makes sense. The way the federal tax code works is to begin from the assumption that all organizations are taxable unless they meet an exemption from taxation specified in the tax code. Thus, for a church to be considered exempt from taxation, it must meet a specific exemption under section 501(c) of the tax code. The specific exemption that churches fall under is section 501(c)(3). And this is where the problem arises because the restrictions on churches in 501(c)(3) are unconstitutional. The passage of the Johnson Amendment in 1954 added a restriction to 501(c)(3) that allows the IRS to censor a pastor’s sermon from the pulpit

ADF Attorney Erik Stanley at Speak Up Movement Church Blog: Let me break down this legalese. What this bill says is that if a church rents out its facilities for non-members to use for weddings, then it will be forced to allow a same-sex couple to use its facilities for a same-sex “marriage” ceremony . . .

Amy Ridenour’s National Center Blog: According to experts in tax law, Jarrett’s overt criticism of Republicans may have violated IRS rules that bar churches from engaging in partisan activism. Eric Stanley, senior legal counsel with the Alliance Defense Fund (a critic of such laws), told the Daily Caller: “It is problematic under current regulations.”

John Hayward Human Events: However, the IRS’ enforcement of its rules are skewed, said Stanley. ‘The IRS’ record of enforcement against churches has been atrocious, uneven, discriminatory and arbitrary,” he said. “Usually more liberal churches and more African-American churches have been [engaged in political activities] for years… whether it is legal or not,” said [Erik Stanley of the Alliance Defense Fund], who wants to persuade the Supreme Court to invalidate IRS curbs on clerics’ speech . . .

ADF Attorney Erik Stanley at Speak Up Movement Church Blog: Earlier, Kevin Theriot blogged about the Supreme Court’s decision in EEOC v. Hosanna-Tabor. The case was a phenomenal win for religious freedom and has far-reaching implications. In analyzing the opinion, one important implication is that the Supreme Court has announced heightened protection for the internal affairs of a church and for situations that affect the faith and mission of the church.

Baptist Press: “It is problematic under current regulations,” said Erik Stanley, a senior legal counsel with the Alliance Defense Fund, which is campaigning to roll back IRS curbs on believers’ speech. But if the IRS concludes that the church violated the IRS code, the ADF “will represent the church, just as it would represent any church for what is said from the pulpit,” he said.

Christianity Today: Until the IRS sorts out who can authorize church audits, churches are left in limbo, said Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) senior legal counsel Erik Stanley. “It has become an intolerable system of self-censorship,” he said. “Society labels biblical issues as political, and pastors just back away.”

Our Sunday Visitor: What can clergy in the pulpit and Catholic nonprofits say about politics without fear of IRS retribution? The answer should be anything, said Erik Stanley, senior legal counsel of the Alliance Defense Fund, which supports “the legal defense of religious freedom, the sanctity of life, marriage and the family.”

ADF Attorney Erik Stanley at the SpeakUp Movement Church Blog: As of the time I write this blog, the IRS has not responded in any way to any of the pastors who participated in Pulpit Freedom Sunday. In fact, pastors have been participating in Pulpit Freedom Sunday since 2008 but no pastor has ever been punished or censored by the IRS for a Pulpit Freedom Sunday sermon.

A few weeks ago ADF Attorney Erik Stanley appeared on WallBuilders Live to discuss the Black Robe Regiment and ADF’s Pulpit Initiative. |  MP3 audio 17:56 mins

ADF Attorney Erik Stanley appeared on the Bott Radio Network to discuss the ADF Pulpit Initiative. | MP3 audio 29 min

Erik Stanley at the Speak Up Movement Church Blog: The settlement is a great victory for the churches in Mission. The City of Mission had forgotten to respect the tax exemption given to churches and may have forgotten the reasons why churches have those exemptions in the first place. Churches are exempt for good reason.

Greeley Gazette: Erik Stanley, senior legal counsel with the Alliance Defense Fund, told WND the move was alarming because “this would be the very first governmental and societal disapproval of a sincerely held religious belief, held by a majority of Americans, namely that homosexual behavior is immoral. “It’s the first time the federal government is writing into law a disapproval of that belief,” he said.

Dakota Voice: Eric Stanley of the Alliance Defense Fund was on Wallbuilders Live yesterday (they’re having some great shows, lately), discussing the Pulpit Initiative . . . The Alliance Defense Fund is an organization established to defend religious liberty in America from the assaults of secularists that have become so common in recent decades. They have allied attorneys all over the country who can help defend churches, pastors, ministry leaders and lay Christians to maintain their religious liberties. In many ways, ADF is the counter to the anti-Christian, anti-American ACLU.

USCatholic.org: Deirdre Dessingue, associate general counsel at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. “But there has been a change in the mood.” She cited several factors affecting that change in mood . . . and continuing efforts by the Alliance Defense Fund to draw the IRS into a battle with a church whose pastor has endorsed a political candidate from the pulpit. “Churches should be allowed to decide for themselves what they want to talk about,” said Erik Stanley, ADF senior legal counsel. “The IRS should not be the one making the decision by threatening to revoke a church’s tax-exempt status.” That approach is far from the stand taken by the USCCB, however.

ADF Attorney Erik Stanley on the Mark Larson Show with Pastor Jim Garlow. | MP3 audio 23:09 mins | Pulpit Freedom Sunday