For too many decades, Christian pastors have been silent as they have watched America’s moral decay. In-large part, this is owing to the so-called Johnson Amendment, a tax-code provision that has muzzled churches since its passage in 1954.

The Johnson Amendment, authored by Texas Democrat and then-Senator Lyndon B. Johnson, came about because Johnson wanted to shutdown political opposition to his own campaign from an anti-communist non-profit group, founded by Texas oil tycoon, H.L. Hunt. But over the years it has shut down much more.

America has suffered greatly from Christian churches being missing in action since the passage of the amendment which was among the things that gave secularists and anti-Christians free rein in our culture and politics. It is surely no coincidence, for example, that the 1960s sexual revolution rolled in after this amendment passed; nor is it a coincidence that student prayer and the displaying of the Ten Commandments were subsequently removed from public schools.  

Thankfully, the Trump administration recently took a much-needed step that essentially disarms the Johnson Amendment: Pastors can once again speak freely in support of candidates aligned with Biblical values who are running for elected office, without fear of retribution and losing 501(c)(3) tax-exemption status.

One of the first elections where we can test the impact of removing the barrier to pastors speaking out on political matters is the current Virginia gubernatorial election, where early voting has already begun.

Republican Lt. Governor Winsome Earle-Sears is running to replace the current, term-limited Governor Glenn Youngkin, and the national and spiritual significance of her campaign cannot be overstated. More important than her status as the first black female governor in Virginia and, indeed, in America, her victory would be cataclysmic and mean much more than any demographic notation in the history books. It’s a good bet that as much as the Democratic Party may dislike Youngkin, Earle-Sears is despised even more.

Earle-Sears is a strong and committed black Christian woman, who fervently believes in the sanctity of both human life and traditional marriage —two cornerstone Biblical beliefs that are clearly not in line with the Democratic Party’s platform. The Democrats’ opposition to her candidacy reveals how the party will condition its support for black Americans only when they align with their pro-abortion and transgender agenda. Blacks are pawns for furthering a leftist moral agenda that brings them little benefit. Just look at the cruel character assaults that Justice Clarence Thomas and others, like Dr. Ben Carson, have endured.

It’s a testament to Earle-Sears’s personal integrity that she is not trying to hide nor deceive voters about her moral convictions:  In this she differs greatly from her Democratic opponent, the former Rep. Abigail Spanberger, who has tried to sell herself as a “moderate” in order to camouflage her radical cultural and moral views—a point that Earle-Sears rightfully hammers in one of her political campaign ads. Spanberger was among the leading transgender advocates during her days in Congress.

Given these facts, it is critical that Christian pastors understand that they can now speak up, support Earle-Sears, and urge their congregants to do the same. Too much is on the line for pastors to neglect this Christian duty.

When Christian families scratch their heads and ask themselves how America became a country where Christians tolerate, and even cheer, exposing children to drag queen shows where “performers” get in the faces of little boys and girls, the answer is simple: For far too long, pastors have been compelled to remain silent in front of their congregations because of the Johnson Amendment. Those shackles are now lifted and that situation no longer obtains.

Now that pastors are free to speak up and support candidates who will support Christian morality, the tide is beginning to turn. Pastors no longer have an excuse to remain silent in critical elections where there is a clear choice between a candidate who will stand for Godly policies versus a candidate who won’t.

Winsome Earle-Sears promises to fight to ensure that Virginia does not return to the upside-down days before Governor Youngkin when parental rights were under assault by educators, and boys could use the girls’ bathrooms and locker rooms.

Virginia pastors are well within their rights to voice their support for Earle-Sears. No longer can it be said that the Johnson Amendment stands in the way of them doing so.