In court filings July 7, the IRS has largely backed down on a decades-old rule that barred churches from engaging in political activity.

The IRS said churches can endorse political candidates to their congregations without jeopardizing their tax-exempt status, according to CNBC. The move overturns a 70-year-old interpretation of the Johnson Amendment,

The move effectively calls for a carve out for religious organizations from the rarely used IRS rule called the Johnson Amendment, put in place in 1954 and named after then-Sen. Lyndon Johnson.