The rule was introduced by former President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1954 when he was serving as the U.S. Senate majority leader. It banned all tax-exempt organizations like churches and charities from “directly or indirectly” participating in politics, specifically in endorsement or opposition of candidates.

The IRS said Monday that religious places of worship could endorse political candidates, undoing a decades-old ban on campaigning by tax-exempt groups. The agency lifted the ban in a court filing to settle a lawsuit from two churches in Texas and an association of Christian broadcasters.

The IRS is allowing churches and other houses of worship to endorse political candidates without forfeiting their tax exempt statuses, granting them an exemption to laws barring nonprofits from political activity.