The Trump administration just put every federal agency on notice: religious liberty cannot be treated like an afterthought.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche issued sweeping new Justice Department guidance Thursday that tells executive agencies to account for religious freedom when they write regulations, enforce federal law, manage employees, award contracts and administer government programs.
It is the first major rewrite of the federal government’s religious-liberty guidance since 2017.
The memorandum carries practical instructions that agencies will have to apply in real decisions.
The document gives agencies concrete instructions rooted in the First Amendment, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and a series of Supreme Court decisions that strengthened protections for people and organizations of faith.
According to the Justice Department, agencies must now consider religious-liberty concerns early in the decision-making process rather than waiting until a lawsuit forces the issue.
The guidance applies across federal employment, contracting, rulemaking, benefits programs and enforcement actions throughout the executive branch.
It specifically incorporates recent Supreme Court rulings on equal treatment, parental authority and the government’s obligation to use the least restrictive means when federal action substantially burdens sincere religious exercise.
It also directs agencies to treat religious organizations on equal terms when they participate in government programs. A church, faith-based charity or religious school cannot be pushed to the back of the line simply because it operates according to a religious mission.
That principle has been reinforced repeatedly by the Supreme Court.
The Court has ruled that states cannot exclude religious institutions from generally available public benefits merely because they are religious. It has also rejected government actions that singled out religious exercise for less favorable treatment.
The department says the updated memo folds those rulings into one government-wide framework. It covers the Free Exercise Clause, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, Title VII and other federal protections that agencies encounter in daily operations.
Agencies are also told to identify conflicts before a new policy is finalized and to consult their lawyers about less restrictive alternatives. That puts responsibility on federal officials at the front end, where many burdens can be avoided without years of litigation.
Blanche said religious liberty is a founding principle and a constitutional right that Americans must be able to exercise in daily life, including when they deal with their own government.
The new guidance also gives special attention to parental rights.
Federal agencies are instructed to respect the right of parents to direct the religious upbringing of their children, reflecting recent Supreme Court precedent on the role of families when government policy collides with deeply held beliefs.
That could have consequences well beyond one department. Education rules, grant conditions, workplace accommodation disputes and federal benefit programs may all face closer scrutiny under the new standard.
The Justice Department’s updated Justice Manual section makes the practical stakes especially clear.
It says the federal government should not second-guess whether a sincere religious practice is central to someone’s faith. It also explains that agencies must look for workable accommodations unless the government can satisfy the demanding legal standards required to burden religious exercise.
That matters for a federal employee who asks for a schedule accommodation, a contractor whose faith shapes how it operates, or a religious organization seeking access to a public program on the same terms as everyone else.
The guidance does not guarantee that every religious claim will win. It does require the government to take those claims seriously and apply the law before bureaucrats impose a burden.
Fox News reported that the update incorporates nine years of major Supreme Court decisions and directs federal lawyers to raise religious-liberty concerns during the policy process, not after a rule is already written.
That is the real shift here.
For years, Americans of faith have often been forced to fight through courts after a government agency crossed the line. President Trump’s Justice Department is telling the executive branch to recognize the line before it is crossed.
The report also noted that agencies must provide equal access to grants and other public benefits when religious and secular applicants are otherwise eligible. Federal officials are expected to evaluate sincere accommodation requests under the correct legal standard instead of relying on a general preference for administrative convenience.
The legal battles will not disappear. Activist groups are certain to challenge parts of this approach, and agencies will still have to decide difficult cases one at a time.
But the starting presumption has changed.
Religious freedom is not a loophole or a favor granted by Washington.
It is a constitutional right, and the federal government has now been ordered to act like it.
This is a Guest Post from our friends over at 100 Percent Fed Up. View the original article here.
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[ H/T WLT Report ]
