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WASHINGTON (AP) — Declaring he was giving churches their "voices back," President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday aimed at easing an IRS rule limiting political activity for religious organizations — a move that fell far short of a more sweeping order some supporters had expected.

As he marked the National Day of Prayer at the White House on Thursday, Trump signed the order on religious freedom, which directs the Treasury Department to not take "adverse action" over churches or religious organizations for political speech. The rule has rarely been enforced. Still, opponents said the restrictions have a chilling effect on free speech.

"This financial threat against the faith community is over," Trump said. He has long promised the conservative Christian supporters who helped him win the White House that he would block the regulation, known as the Johnson Amendment, though any repeal would have to be done by Congress.

The amendment , named for then-Sen. Lyndon Johnson, was put into force in 1954. The policy allows a wide range of advocacy on political issues, but in the case of houses of worship, it bars electioneering and outright political endorsements from the pulpit.

The IRS does not make public its investigations of such cases, but only one church is known to have lost its tax-exempt status as a result of the prohibition.

Trump's order also asks federal agencies to consider issuing new regulations that the White House says could help religious groups that object to paying for contraception under the Affordable Care Act health law. And it asks the attorney general to issue guidance on federal religious liberty protections.

The order did not match a broader, much more detailed draft leaked earlier this year that included provisions on conscience protection for faith-based ministries, schools and federal workers across an array of agencies. Robin Fretwell Wilson, a legal scholar who advises legislators on balancing LGBT rights and religious liberty, said the language in the document was so vague, it was unclear what impact it would have.

"I'm not seeing a lot more shield around people of faith from this," said Wilson, a professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Leaders of some faith groups condemned the order, saying it would damage congregations by politicizing them. But the American Civil Liberties Union announced late Thursday it had dropped its initial plan to file a lawsuit to prevent the order from taking effect, saying "today's executive order signing was an elaborate photo-op with no discernible policy outcome."

Trump spoke to religious leaders in the Rose Garden, where he also announced he'll visit Israel, Saudi Arabia and the Vatican — including a meeting with Pope Francis — on his first foreign trip. In the audience were members of the Little Sisters of the Poor, who run more than two dozen nursing homes for impoverished seniors, and object to having to pay for birth control in their health plans.

Several religious leaders who supported Trump praised the order as a first step in what would be a lengthy, difficult process of reworking a web of regulations that many religious conservatives consider unfair.

Tony Perkins, head of the conservative Family Research Council, which has advocated for a repeal of the IRS restrictions on political speech, said Trump has started "a multi-phase process" on religious liberty that will "keep the promises the administration has made to people of faith."

But Michael Farris, chief executive of the Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative Christian legal group that advocates for broad religious liberty protections, said "we strongly encourage" the president to go further.

"Though we appreciate the spirit of today's gesture, vague instructions to federal agencies simply leaves them wiggle room to ignore that gesture, regardless of the spirit in which it was intended," Farris said in a statement.

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Trump signs executive order on #NationalPrayerDay to "protect and vigorously promote religious liberty." https://t.co/aDcrgyZHXJpic.twitter.com/aycNc3cXGJ — USA TODAY (@USATODAY) May 4, 2017

Ralph Reed, a longtime evangelical leader and founder of the Faith & Freedom Coalition, called the executive order's provisions an excellent "first step."

He said he was "thrilled" by the language on the IRS restrictions. "This administratively removes the threat of harassment," Reed said in a phone interview. "That is a really big deal."

But Gregory Baylor, senior counsel for the Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative Christian legal group, said the summary of the executive order released late Wednesday leaves Trump's campaign promises to people of faith unfulfilled.

Baylor said directing the IRS not to enforce limits on political speech, while leaving the restrictions in place, still gives too much discretion to agents. And Baylor called the promised "regulatory relief" from the birth control coverage requirement "disappointingly vague."

Mark Silk, a professor at Trinity College in Connecticut who writes on religious freedom, called the actions described by the White House "very weak tea," especially compared to a draft order leaked earlier this year. That draft contained sweeping provisions on conscience protection for faith-based ministries, schools and federal workers across an array of agencies.

Trump promised to "totally destroy" the law prohibiting the political activities when he spoke in February at the National Prayer Breakfast, a high-profile Washington event with faith leaders, politicians and dignitaries. But fully abolishing the regulation would take an act of Congress.

The White House official, who was not authorized to discuss the issue publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity, told reporters Wednesday night that the order will direct the IRS to use "maximum enforcement discretion" over the rule. The official insisted on anonymity despite criticism from president himself of the media's use of anonymous sources.

The Johnson amendment, named for then-Sen. Lyndon Johnson, was put into force in 1954. The policy allows a wide range of advocacy on political issues, but in the case of houses of worship, it bars electioneering and outright political endorsements from the pulpit.

The IRS does not make public its investigations of such cases, but only one church is known to have lost its tax-exempt status as a result of the prohibition. The Church at Pierce Creek in Conklin, New York, was penalized for taking out newspaper ads telling Christians they could not vote for Bill Clinton in the 1992 presidential election. Even so, some religious leaders have argued the rule has a chilling effect on free speech.

While Trump's action on the Johnson Amendment aims to please religious conservatives, not all of them are on board.

In a February survey of evangelical leaders conducted by the National Association of Evangelicals, which represents churches from about 40 denominations, 89 percent said pastors should not endorse political candidates from the pulpit. Nearly 100 clergy and faith leaders from across a range of denominations sent a letter last month to congressional leaders urging them to uphold the regulation. They said the IRS rule protects houses of worship and religious groups from political pressure.

Easing political activity rules for churches also raises questions about whether churches could be pulled into the campaign finance sphere and effectively become "dark money" committees that play partisan politics without disclosing donors.

The order's health care provision could apply to groups like the Little Sisters of the Poor, who run more than two dozen nursing homes for impoverished seniors, and have moral objections to paying the birth control costs of women in their health plans. The Obama administration created a buffer meant to shield those groups, but they say it didn't go far enough. They have continued to press their case in the courts, and last year the Supreme Court asked lower courts to take another look at the issue.

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