The change upends decades of legal precedent, dating back to the 1950s, when then-Senator Lyndon B. Johnson introduced the rule banning churches from participating in politics. Some are hailing the change as a free-speech victory; others are worried about what might happen if religious leaders start telling people who to vote for, or what it means if political campaigns can start lobbying churches directly. Then again, the IRS hasn’t exactly enforced the so-called Johnson Amendment that much, anyway. We’re talking history, how the LDS Church fits into the story and about what can happen when you’re free to mix faith and politics.
GUESTS –
Benjamin E. Park | Associate professor of history at Sam Houston State University. You can visit his YouTube page here. His latest book is “American Zion: A New History of Mormonism.” [Amazon|Bookshop]
Mark Fossen | (J. Reuben Clark) Voice actor and adjunct assistant professor, Department of Theatre, University of Utah
Esau McCaulley | Associate professor of the New Testament at Wheaton College. He’s also the author of numerous books, including “How Far to the Promised Land: One Black Family’s Story of Hope and Survival in the American South,” as well as “Reading While Black: African American Biblical Interpretation as an Exercise in Hope.” His piece in The Atlantic is called “An IRS Regulation Change that Could Sow Societal Division.”
Airdate: Wed., Aug. 20, 2025 at 9 a.m. and 7 p.m.