The Trump administration in late July issued a directive allowing coercive forms of prayer and religious proselytization in federal workplaces, a move that was swiftly blasted by Americans United.
The Office of Personnel Management, a federal agency that oversees the civil service employees of the federal government, issued a memo July 28 titled, “Protecting Religious Expression in the Federal Workplace.” The memo sets out examples of religious expression it seeks to allow, which could result in coercive prayer by government employees.
Americans United noted that some of these forms of “expression” are not private and could lead to employees and others being subjected to coercive forms of religion against their will.
For example, the memo states that a Veterans Affairs doctor praying over a hospitalized patient or a park ranger joining a tour group in prayer would be allowed under the new rules.
The memo, Americans United asserted, ignores the very existence of the First Amendment principle of separation of church and state.
“The federal government’s role is to serve the public — not to proselytize,” said Americans United President and CEO Rachel Laser. “The Constitution’s promise of church-state separation means that government officials may not impose religion on their colleagues or people who are seeking government services. And yet this memo encourages federal workers to abuse the power of their positions by imposing their religious beliefs on others. Imagine being a veteran hospitalized for injuries and your VA doctor prays over you in a religion that is not your own. That’s not religious freedom.”
Added Laser, “This memo and Trump’s Anti-Christian Bias Task Force are offensive to all federal workers who serve the United States. Under this regime, it’s easy to imagine the Christian Nationalists Trump has appointed proselytizing employees in the workplace — who then get reported and disciplined for anti-Christian animus when they object to this harassment.
“The federal government has been able to accommodate federal employees’ religious expression without violating the religious freedom of the public or coworkers,” she concluded. “The Trump administration is once again trying to advance a Christian Nationalist agenda by encouraging federal officials to abuse the power of their office and impose religious beliefs on others.”
More than three million Americans work for the federal government, including members of the military. Americans United is ready to assist federal employees who believe their rights have been violated. Anyone who is proselytized by federal employees can report the violation to Americans United at au.org/report-a-violation.