Zing! Trump’s executive order easing the rules on tax-exempt religious institutions regarding political activities may boomerang back to hit Republicans in the upcoming election year.
"This is going to backfire on Trump," said the Rev. Jennifer Butler, chief executive of progressive policy group Faith in Public Life. "We are morally outraged at what is going on and we are appalled at the weaponization of religion."
The group plans to mobilize voters who view some of Trump's policies as immoral. While the group does not endorse candidates, those voters in the 2018 midterm elections would back candidates who oppose those policies. Trump's order gives religious groups more liberty to do so without jeopardizing tax-exempt status.
"We're going to be mobilizing millions of voters to turn out at the polls and vote their values," Butler said.
Of course, right-wing evangelical groups will no doubt be doing the same, but, since the language in the EO is very broad, it is certainly possible that other, non-Christian religious groups will also take advantage of the situation. Mobilizing Muslim, Jewish and liberal Christian organizations to defeat Trump’s party at the polls would certainly help balance scales a bit, and would no doubt drive the White House crew absolutely nuts.
Even if many religious leaders voluntarily avoid getting drawn into partisan politics, Trump (and the rest of the GOP) may still have opened up a can of worms for themselves with this order.
Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said his group would keep urging U.S. imams to speak out on moral issues with political consequences, but would urge them to remain nonpartisan.
He wondered if all religious leaders would follow that guidance.
"These kind of moves, particularly by this administration, have a vast ocean of unintended consequences," he said.