Donald Trump tells Christian leaders he'd be better at defending religious freedom than Hillary Clinton
Business tycoon Donald Trump met more than 900 Christian leaders and conservatives on June 21, and he said that he would be better at defending religious freedom than Hillary Clinton, his opponent at the upcoming United States presidential elections.
"I think maybe that will be my greatest contribution to Christianity — and other religions — is to allow you, when you talk religious liberty, to go and speak openly, and if you like somebody or want somebody to represent you, you should have the right to do it," Trump said, according to The Washington Post.
In what is called the Johnson Amendment, then-U.S. senator Lyndon Johnson made a change in 1954 on the U.S. tax code that prohibits tax-exempt organizations, or non-profit groups with 501(c) tax exemptions, from directly or indirectly making political endorsements or expressing opposition to certain political candidates. Violation of this prohibition, according to the Internal Revenue Service website, "may result in denial or revocation of tax-exempt status and the imposition of certain excise taxes."
As president, Trump said that he would work on things such as "freeing up your religion, freeing up your thoughts. You talk about religious liberty and religious freedom, you don't have any religious freedom if you think about it." He said that America is hurting because Christianity is becoming "weaker," and he will fight against the restrictions placed on public employees.
"One of the things that was mentioned here today was that if he became president he was going to deal with the Johnson amendment which has been used to muzzle the church from speaking especially in election years," said Pastor Mark Gonzales, founder of the Hispanic Action Network, as quoted by The Christian Post. "Pastors have something to say. They have the power of convocation to move the pews and this has been a tool that has been used to not allow that to take place especially when it comes to elections and even candidates. So we are excited about that particular piece."
The event called "A Conversation About America's Future with Donald Trump and Ben Carson" was organized by non-partisan organizations United in Purpose and My Faith Votes, and it was meant for Trump to answer the questions that Christian leaders wish to ask, such as his stance on religious liberty, abortion, and the Supreme Court.
"Trump says he will appoint pro-life judges who will respect our freedom and Hillary will appoint the opposite," Peter Wolfgang, executive director of the Family Institute of Connecticut, told Breitbart. "We know he's right about Hillary. What we don't know is whether he will really appoint the judges he named, especially if the GOP loses the Senate. So we are where we were before today's meeting: the certainty of evil that is Hillary Clinton's agenda vs. the question mark that is Donald Trump."
While many conservatives are skeptical about Trump's commitment to address such issues, he is seen as an ally more than Clinton. On the other hand, there are those who do not think that he would be a good choice.
"This meeting marks the end of the Christian Right. The premise of the meeting in 1980 was that only candidates that reflected a biblical worldview and good character would gain our support," Michael Farris, Chancellor of Patrick Henry College, wrote on Facebook. "Today, a candidate whose worldview is greed and whose god is his appetites (Philippians 3) is being tacitly endorsed by this throng."
He also said that the organizer of the meeting told him that he wasn't invited because "had been too vocal in my antiTrump views."
The event called "A Conversation About America's Future with Donald Trump and Ben Carson" was organized by non-partisan organizations United in Purpose and My Faith Votes, and it was meant for Trump to answer the questions that Christian leaders wish to ask, such as his stance on abortion, the Supreme Court, and religious liberty.
