IRS urged to revoke tax-exempt status of Billy Graham org over ‘electioneering’
September 26, 2024
The Freedom From Religion foundation is lobbying the Internal Revenue Service to strip the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) of its tax-exempt status over alleged election law violations.
The Christian Post reports that the secular legal organization sent the request to the IRS last week following the publication of an edition of BGEA’s Decision magazine that compared the two major party presidential candidates.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation claims that Donald Trump is described as a supporter of “freedom” while Kamala Harris is described as advocating “socialism.”
The group accuses BGEA of violating Internal Revenue Code prohibitions on nonprofit groups electioneering and says, “In this instance, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association has breached the responsibilities of its tax exempt status by publishing an election guide that gives the clear impression that it favors one candidate over the other and one party over the other.”
BGEA President and CEO Franklin Graham told the Christian Post, “This isn’t the first time we’ve been attacked by this activist group, and it won’t be the last. I don’t tell people who to vote for, but I do encourage Christians to pray and vote. “I believe we have a responsibility to help people understand where former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris stand on Biblical issues and religious freedom.”
Franklin further stated that there was “nothing illegal about encouraging believers to vote for the candidate who best aligns with and stands for Biblical principles.”
The son of the late evangelist Billy Graham also noted that, “Every other group of people in this country has the right to do this — Christians shouldn’t be the one group denied that same right.”
The Freedom From Religion Foundation filed a similar complaint against BGEA in 2012 over a “vote biblical values” ad that the atheist group claimed was too favorable to Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney.
Photo: top, Credit: Billy Graham Evangelistic Association