The Trump administration ordered every federal agency to strengthen religious liberty safeguards in a new Department of Justice memorandum, the first major overhaul of the government’s religious freedom guidance since 2017.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s DOJ released the updated directive on Thursday, replacing guidance originally issued during Trump’s first term. The new memorandum tells executive agencies to weigh religious liberty concerns earlier when drafting regulations, enforcing federal law, and handling workplace accommodation requests from employees of faith. It draws on nearly a decade of Supreme Court rulings that the department says have “clarified and strengthened constitutional and statutory protections for religious exercise.”
Two of those rulings figure prominently. In Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, the Court held that a public high school football coach’s postgame prayer was protected by the First Amendment. In Groff v. DeJoy, the justices tightened the standard employers must meet before denying a religious accommodation, ruling that refusal is justified only when it would impose a substantial hardship, a higher bar than many federal agencies and private employers had been applying. Both cases were litigated by First Liberty Institute, a nonprofit legal organization that immediately praised the updated guidance.