On Friday, the Department of Labor issued some additional protections for faith-based organizations that partner with the government, as an addendum to President Trump’s 2017 executive order promoting religious liberty. Though this new rule will likely be met with both praise and criticism (and it certainly won’t shield every faith-based organization from potential legal challenges), it’s still a boon for religious liberty across the board.
The department issued these new guidelines “to ensure that all organizations are treated equally in the issuance of awards and sub-awards of Department grant funds, and that Federal law’s protections for religious liberty are faithfully adhered to.” They specify that religious organizations should be treated equally to secular organizations, can seek grants from the government, aid the government, and specifies that an “organization does not forfeit its exemption from the Federal prohibition on employment discrimination on the basis of religion when the organization receives direct or indirect DOL support.”
Religious liberty advocates have praised these new guidelines. In a statement, Kelly Shackelford, president, CEO, and chief counsel for First Liberty Institute, a Texas-based organization focused on religious liberty issues, commended Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia:
Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Gregory S. Baylor said in a statement:
Hopefully, these guidelines will help further protect religious ministries, charities, and other organizations that want to partner with the government to help without fear of unnecessary lawsuits. This should protect them from anti-religious discrimination during the contracting process and allows the government to choose whom to work with, religious affiliation or not, without fear of punitive measures.
As positive as these guidelines are for religious-based organizations, guidelines such as this will not stop all lawsuits. In fact, they may themselves be challenged in court by liberal activists. Regardless, this shows the Trump administration has followed through on the president’s campaign promises to protect religious liberty for all.
Nicole Russell (@russell_nm) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog. She is a journalist who previously worked in Republican politics in Minnesota.
