Mendel
Senior Member.
The issue came up here on Metabunk:
In 2017, the House of Representatives had a committee hearing on H.R. 781, the Free Speech Fairness Act, which aims to change this amendment. (It hasn't been passed, though it keeps getting reintroduced.)
tl;dr "Houses of worship can engage in public debate on any issue" as long as they don't "endorse [or] oppose political candidates".
Churches can adress extremism and conspiracy theories as long as they don't engage in election campaigning.
The Johnson amendment restricts tax-exempt churches on the USA:
Article: Paragraph (3) of subsection (c) within section 501 of Title 26 (Internal Revenue Code) of the U.S. Code (U.S.C.) describes organizations which may be exempt from U.S. Federal income tax. 501(c)(3) is written as follows,[4] with the Johnson Amendment in bold letters:[5]
(3) Corporations, and any community chest, fund, or foundation, organized and operated exclusively for religious, charitable, scientific, testing for public safety, literary, or educational purposes, or to foster national or international amateur sports competition (but only if no part of its activities involve the provision of athletic facilities or equipment), or for the prevention of cruelty to children or animals, no part of the net earnings of which inures to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual, no substantial part of the activities of which is carrying on propaganda, or otherwise attempting, to influence legislation (except as otherwise provided in subsection (h)), and which does not participate in, or intervene in (including the publishing or distributing of statements), any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office.[bolding added]
In 2017, the House of Representatives had a committee hearing on H.R. 781, the Free Speech Fairness Act, which aims to change this amendment. (It hasn't been passed, though it keeps getting reintroduced.)
Article: Current law does not prevent churches or charities from speaking out on any issue. They can speak about all the hot button issues of the day. They can lobby the government. In fact, a group of 99 religious and denominational organizations recently sent a letter to congressional leadership explaining that they are currently able to, and I quote, use their pulpits to address the moral and political issues of the day. They also can, in their personal capacities and without the resources of their houses of worship, endorse and oppose political candidates. Houses of worship can engage in public debate on any issue, host candidate forums, engage in voter registration drives, encourage people to vote, help transport people to the polls, and even, with a few boundaries, lobby on specific legislation and invite candidates to speak.
[...]
The Johnson amendment bars 501(c)(3) organizations from, quote, participating in or intervening in, including the publishing or distributing of statements, any political campaign on behalf of or in opposition to any candidate for public office.
[...]
Under current law, churches and other houses of worship can speak freely and engage in partisan political activity. That's under current law. This hearing is not about free speech, it's about money. Under current law, churches do not pay taxes. Individuals who donate can claim deductions for their donations. Churches do not have to reveal publicly who they are. If the Johnson amendment were to be repealed, as some are suggesting, 501(c)(3) tax exempt entities and their contributors would apparently be allowed to participate in political campaigns with tax deductible donations. Under their new status, America would have more than 340,000 new political action committees. The new PACs that self-identify those houses of worship could maintain the anonymity of their donors, and the size of each donor's contribution would remain a secret. The repeal of the Johnson amendment would not change the tax deductibility of donations of houses of worship. This means taxpayers would be subsidizing partisan political contributions. In other words, my colleagues are proposing to allow tax deductions now for those political contributions.
tl;dr "Houses of worship can engage in public debate on any issue" as long as they don't "endorse [or] oppose political candidates".
Churches can adress extremism and conspiracy theories as long as they don't engage in election campaigning.