Americans United for Separation of Church and State President and CEO Rachel Laser issued the following statement in response to the “Report by the Task Force to Eradicate Anti-Christian Bias” issued today by the Trump administration:
“The Executive Summary alone confirms what we have been saying all along: The administration’s claims that it has uncovered extensive evidence of anti-Christian bias within the federal government are unfounded. Instead, the report just repeats the misleading examples the Trump administration has been using since Day 1. The task force is doing exactly what we expected: imposing its narrow view of Christianity on the country and attacking freedom and equality, especially for women and LGBTQ+ Americans.
“All people, including Christians, should be able to live as themselves and believe as they choose so long as they don’t harm others. But rather than protecting religious beliefs, this administration has made clear it will misuse religious freedom to justify bigotry, discrimination, and the subversion of our civil rights laws. This is part of the Christian Nationalist crusade to remake our country. Not on our watch. Americans United will not stop fighting for church-state separation until this nation lives up to its promise of freedom without favor and equality without exception.”
Starting last year, AU launched an investigation into the Anti-Christian Bias Task Force. The administration did not respond initially to provide any evidence of alleged anti-Christian bias within the Departments of State, Veterans Affairs, and Health and Human Services. AU has Freedom of Information Act lawsuits pending against all three agencies as a result of this lack of transparency and a refusal to produce materials.
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]
