In July 2025, the federal government took the first steps toward lifting the prohibition restricting churches from campaigning for and endorsing candidates running for elected office, when the Internal Revenue Service filed court papers to overturn the Johnson Amendment, the source of the restriction.
The continuing policy of the Diocese of North Carolina is that our churches shall not campaign for or endorse any candidate running for an elected office.
When we gather to worship, we do so as one body – the Body of Christ. Our worship spaces must be places of community, where the dignity of every human being is respected and where we are unified in our love of Christ. Bringing political campaigns into this space would invite division and distract us from the reason we gather.
When we gather, we can and should discuss our values, the biblical foundations of those values, and how they are reflected both in the roots of our faith and in the world around us. We should do this regardless of election cycles or who might be running for office. When we keep these values front and center, and work to discern how best to live into our values, we follow the teachings of Jesus and the promises of our baptismal covenant.
This policy does not apply to the individual members of each congregation. Every person has the right to make their own decisions on candidate preference and how to use their voice in support or opposition to candidates, legislation or public policy.
This policy does not preclude churches from building relationships with elected officials, using church spaces for bipartisan community events like town halls or voting sites, or from working to ensure voter enrollment and access.
The policy reinforces what our mission has been all along: to create spaces where we can come together to worship, to pray, and to build and become beloved community.
