'Time to recruit some churches': Experts blast new rules on pulpit politics

The Internal Revenue Service promulgated a set of new rules on Monday that allow churches to endorse and donate to political candidates, The New York Times reported on Monday.

The new rules were created at a time when religion had slowly become a staple in American politics. President Donald Trump has surrounded himself with religious figures to appeal to his Evangelical base, including hiring a spiritual advisor for the White House. They could also play a part in the 2026 midterm elections.

“It basically tells churches of all denominations and sects that you’re free to support candidates from the pulpit,” Lloyd Hitoshi Mayer, a law professor at the University of Notre Dame, told the NYT. “It also says to all candidates and parties, ‘Hey, time to recruit some churches.’”

Experts have also suggested that Trump is seeking to build a new kind of religious right, one that places churches at the forefront of America's culture wars. This makes it less of a religious movement and more of a political movement, Katherine Kelaidis, a research associate at the Institute for Orthodox Christian Studies in the United Kingdom, argued in a recent essay for Vox.

Other experts see the influence of the new religious right expanding far beyond the church pews.

“It’s not going to be limited to just their membership,” Ellen Aprill, a professor emeritus at Loyola Marymount University, told the outlet. “Even Las Vegas doesn’t stay in Las Vegas these days. Everybody has a web page.”