On September 8, the federal Religious Liberty Commission hosted a gathering with U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi, President Donald Trump, and American students and parents.
During the gathering, students and parents shared about challenges to religious liberty in the public school system.
Protecting the free exercise of religion has been a high priority this year. In February the president signed an executive order establishing the Task Force to Eradicate Anti-Christian Bias. The task force’s purpose is to “protect the religious freedoms of Americans and end the anti-Christian weaponization of government.”
The Religious Liberty Commission that met earlier this month was established through a second executive order President Trump signed in May.
The commission is responsible for producing “a comprehensive report on the foundations of religious liberty in America, strategies to increase awareness of and celebrate America’s peaceful religious pluralism, current threats to religious liberty, and strategies to preserve and enhance protections for future generations.”
In recent years news outlets and congressional testimony have alleged that government policies and departments have been weaponized against people of faith — especially conservative and Christian organizations.
Federal workers and military personnel have also come under fire for living out their faith.
In 2013, Family Research Council compiled examples of attacks against religious liberty in the military. In 2014, news broke about the federal government making Veterans Affairs hospital chapels “religiously neutral.” And in 2015 a Navy chaplain was relieved of his duties for holding biblical views on homosexuality.
In August the U.S. Office of Personnel Management issued a new memo to help prevent this type of religious discrimination in federal workplaces.
We applaud the federal government for taking steps to prevent anti-Christian bias in the federal government and preserve the free exercise of religion for all Americans. No one should face discrimination for their faith.
Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.
