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

In a court filing, the tax agency said a decades-old ban on campaigning by tax-exempt groups should not apply to houses of worship speaking to their own members.

The agency's agreement in a court filing formally reverses a decades-old provision of the tax code, but the motion would need to be approved by a judge.