Churches are sometimes tempted to lend their support to political candidates with whom they share common values or interests. But U.S. tax law restricts the kinds of political speech churches and [...]
Copyright law intersects with church governance in a number of important ways. Sermons and other forms of oral or written ministry are subject to copyright. As is the music performed by a church [...]
Regardless of how a church is organized, whether as a nonprofit association or corporation, it should have a governing document that sets out the basic features of its management. Unincorporated [...]
Since its beginning under George W. Bush, the federal government’s “faith-based initiative” has offered grants to qualified religious organizations to assist them with their charitable work. The [...]
Nonprofit groups of all kinds, especially churches, often begin their existence as unincorporated associations and only later decide that forming a nonprofit corporation is the right choice for [...]
In recent years the role of churches as sanctuaries and asylums for people fleeing law enforcement has entered the spotlight. People facing deportation for immigration law violations have [...]
For a wide variety of reasons, many with deep historical or theological roots, churches often want to avoid entanglements with government agencies. Concerns about state interference in religious [...]
Branding is an essential component of any nonprofit’s broader efforts to raise money and serve its mission. An organization’s trademarks can become core assets with real value. But they can also [...]
Church leaders owe their organizations and each other a range of special obligations. Some of these obligations are moral and ethical in nature, but some also have a legal character. Anyone who [...]
Churches and other religious nonprofits often require their employees be members of the faith. But an employee’s religious views may change over time. When an employee decides to leave the faith, [...]