Americans United for Separation of Church and State’s President and CEO Rachel Laser issued the following statement in response to President Donald Trump signing an executive order that revokes Executive Order 11246, also known as the Equal Employment Opportunity EO:
“Since 1965, our government has protected federal contract workers from religious and other forms of discrimination. With the swipe of his black magic marker, Trump has rolled civil rights protections back 60 years for employees of taxpayer-funded federal contractors.
“Religious freedom means no one should be turned away from a government-funded job because they can’t meet a religious test.
“White Christian Nationalism seeks to perpetuate privilege and power for white Christian men. Trump’s action does exactly that by eliminating a critical layer of protections against discrimination based on religion, as well as sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, race, and more. Trump continues to advance the agenda of white Christian Nationalists who are using the machinery of the state to impose their narrow beliefs on all of us.
“America doesn’t need more Christian Nationalism. We need a national recommitment to keep church and state separate – our freedoms, equality and democracy depend on it.”
Americans United is a religious freedom advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1947, AU educates Americans about the importance of church-state separation in safeguarding religious freedom.
Liz Hayes
Associate Vice President of Communications
[email protected]
