From the White House to the Pentagon and even the Office of Personnel Management, the Trump administration is finding multiple ways to make good on campaign promises to honor a core value woven into the fabric of America’s foundation – freedom of religious expression.
President Trump and the White House Faith Office held their inaugural White House Summit of Faith and Business Leaders earlier this week.
According to a White House release, Trump delivered powerful remarks on the foundation of the American spirit: “Today, we celebrate the core values that built this country: freedom, hard work, risk-taking, & above all, trust in almighty God.”
“We have to bring religion back into the country, and we’re starting to do that, I think, at a very high level,” he continued before religious business leaders. “You see, churches are starting to fill up again. We now have a confident nation, an optimistic nation, and we have one nation under God, and we’ll always keep that term.”
Meanwhile, the Pentagon recently held another prayer service. Edward Graham, the COO of Samaritan’s Purse, was invited to speak before the federal agency.
Graham is the youngest son of Franklin Graham and the grandson of the late evangelist Billy Graham. He’s also a graduate of West Point and served several combat tours in Afghanistan as an Army Ranger.
“I shared with the audience that my prayer for the U.S. Military and its leaders is that Jesus Christ would be their ‘Rock’ and I read from scripture in the book of Mathew, about the house built upon the ‘Rock’. The rock is Jesus Christ,” Graham shared in a social media post.
“Please join me in praying for our country, for the Secretary of Defense, his family, and our military,” he added.
Additionally, the Trump administration is taking steps to strengthen religious accommodations in the federal workforce.
Scott Kupor, the director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), issued new guidance this week aimed at cracking down on religious discrimination in the federal workforce.
A memo released Wednesday outlines that the guidance is to “help federal agencies accommodate employeesʼ religious beliefs and practices.” Part of it encourages the use of telework, flexible schedules, and leave options to meet reasonable religious needs while maintaining efficient agency operations.
“Religious liberty is foundational,” Director Kupor said. “No federal employee should be forced to choose between their faith and their federal service. This guidance ensures agencies meet their legal obligations and treat these requests with the seriousness they deserve.”
The new guidance instructs the heads and acting heads of executive agencies and departments on how to make certain religious accommodations for workers, such as abstaining from work during specific times or participating in religious observances or practices, as outlined under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.
The memo issued by Kupor is his first in his new role as OPM Director after his recent Senate confirmation. The guidance comes after President Trump issued a Presidential Memorandum (PM) titled Return to In-Person Work, which instructed agencies to take all necessary steps to terminate remote work arrangements and require employees to return to work in person.
Days later, OPM issued instructions to heads and acting heads of departments and agencies on how to execute the PM. It was noted at the time that exemptions could be made.
The latest guidance outlines that heads and acting heads of executive agencies and departments should take a “generous approach to approving religious accommodations, prioritizing employee needs while maintaining operational efficiency.”
It includes allowing employees to telework on days of religious significance, or days immediately before such days, so as to avoid travel or commuting time, which may interfere with preparation or observance. Additionally, agencies can permit telework if someone is fasting for religious purposes or needs to engage in time-specific religious activities, such as prayer, during breaks in the workday.
Since taking office in January, President Trump has taken other steps to defend religious liberty.
As CBN News reported, he signed an executive order in May to establish a religious liberty commission to “vigorously enforce the historic and robust protections for religious liberty enshrined in Federal law.”
According to the executive order, the commission will “produce a comprehensive report on the foundations of religious liberty in America, the impact of religious liberty on American society, current threats to domestic religious liberty, strategies to preserve and enhance religious liberty protections for future generations and programs to increase awareness of and celebrate America’s peaceful religious pluralism.”
The commission was designed by Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick “to preserve and strengthen religious liberty” in America.
“The last administration attacked people of faith for four years,” Patrick said. “There’s a saying that no one should get between a doctor and a patient. I think we would say no one should get between God and a believer. No one should get between God and those seeking Him.”
Additionally, Trump announced in February that the Justice Department would launch a coalition to halt “all forms of anti-Christian targeting and discrimination within the federal government,” including at the DOJ, IRS, and FBI.
Attorney General Pam Bondi oversees the DOJ’s Anti-Christian Bias Task Force, and she hosted a news conference in April with various Cabinet members to discuss the initiative.
“This task force will identify any unlawful anti-Christian policies, practices, or conduct across the government, seek input from the faith-based organizations and state governments to end anti-Christian bias,” she said.
Under the task force, Bondi will work to “fully prosecute anti-Christian violence and vandalism in our society and to move heaven and earth to defend the rights of Christians and religious believers nationwide,” Trump said in February.
So far, the Trump administration has already taken steps to crack down on anti-Christian biases, including dropping cases against three peaceful pro-lifers who had been accused of violating the FACE Act.
“The First Amendment isn’t just the line in the Constitution. It’s the cornerstone of our American memory,” Bondi said. “It guarantees every citizen the right to speak freely, worship freely, and live according to their conscience without government interference. Protecting Christians from bias is not favoritism. It’s upholding the rule of law and fulfilling the constitutional promise.”
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