Thirty-three pastors from across the country on Sunday attempted to break a federal tax law that forbids members of the clergy from endorsing political candidates lest their organizations lose their tax-exempt status, reports The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal.

The Post quotes one pastor, the Rev. Ron Johnson Jr., who said that voting for the Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama was proof of “severe moral schizophrenia.”

The actions of the 33 pastors are part of a campaign organized by the Alliance Defense Fund, a conservative legal consortium in Arizona, hoping to spark a lawsuit that will eliminate the law that prohibits tax-exempt religious organizations from politicking. The law was set in 1954.

Although the Defense Fund says it tried to recruit both liberal and conservative pastors to take part in the campaign, most of the participants seem to be socially conservative, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Of the law, the Rev. Johnson said, “The point that the IRS says you can’t do it, I’m saying you’re wrong.”

Nancy Mathis, an Internal Revenue Service spokeswoman said, “We’re aware of recent press reports, and we’ll monitor the situation and take action as appropriate.”

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