Religious Liberty Under Attack, Hawley Tells Evangelical Group

ST. LOUIS, MO — Missouri Attorney General and Republican Senate candidate Josh Hawley wants to allow churches to endorse political candidates, according to a speech he gave to the Family Research Council in St. Louis earlier this month. "Religious liberty is under attack in this country and it's a terrible thing," Hawley said in audio obtained by the Post-Dispatch. The Family Research Council has been designated a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center for its anti-LGBT rhetoric.

Churches can currently lobby for specific policies, conduct voter drives, educate members on policy, and host candidate forums, among other political activities, but according to a 1954 provision of the tax code, they cannot endorse specific candidates without endangering their tax-exempt status. (Pastors may still privately endorse candidates.)

Supporters of the so-called Johnson Amendment say repealing the law could lead to churches becoming tax-free political fundraising operations, but many conservatives say the amendment puts a damper on free speech and is unconstitutional.

In a statement to the Associate Press, after the audio became public, Hawley accused Democrats of trying to "muzzle people of faith."

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President Donald Trump has also criticized the law. Last year, he signed an executive order loosening the regulation, and in a closed-door meeting this week, NBC News reports, the president bragged to evangelical leaders that he had already repealed the law.

The law remains in effect — the president can't repeal a law by executive order, and Congress was unable to strike the amendment last year.

In his run for U.S. Senate, Hawley seems to be tacking close to Trump and leaning into controversial culture war issues.

"We're going to become more and more like our European friends," Hawley said in the leaked audio. "I will tell you this, Europe's political traditions, where they have banished faith from the public arena, where they have said you're not welcome to bring your beliefs, you're not welcome to bring the Gospel into public... ... You can see what it's done to their society. You know, there's a reason Europeans only have, what is it, one child? And the reason is, they don't have any hope anymore. That's a society that has no hope for the future. ...That's a vision of a society that has lost the influence of the Gospel."

In another speech before evangelical leaders earlier this year, the Post-Dispatch reports, Hawley blamed the sexual revolution and "cultural elites" for sex trafficking.

"[In] the 1960s, 1970s, it became commonplace in our culture, among our cultural elites, Hollywood and the media...to denigrate the biblical truth about husband and wife, man and woman," Hawley said, calling sex trafficking the "terrible after effects of this so-called revolution."

Hawley's opponent, Sen. Claire McCaskill, is no stranger to challengers saying controversial things on the campaign trail. Her 2012 race drew national attention when her opponent, Todd Akin, said women couldn't get pregnant from what he termed a "legitimate rape."

But Hawley is no Akin. Despite hopes (or fears) of a coming "blue wave," McCaskill is expected to have a tough reelection ahead of her in November. Running in a state President Trump won by almost 20 points, she is routinely listed as one of the most vulnerable Democratic senators in the country, and has already been the target of Russian hacking attempts. Hanging on to her seat will be key to Democratic hopes of retaking the Senate later this year.

Photo: Missouri Attorney General and Republican Senate candidate Josh Hawley, right, with Missouri Sen. Roy Blunt. (Michael B. Thomas/Getty Images)