Trump Cabinet Officials Double Down on Religious Favoritism
Last Friday was a banner day for religious favoritism in the Trump administration. In Nashville, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo delivered a 鈥渟peech鈥� that was 鈥� for all intents and purposes 鈥� a Christian sermon. Addressing an association of Christian counselors, Secretary Pompeo discussed how to be a good Christian leader, quoting scripture and urging audience members to conduct themselves in accordance with his interpretation of biblical tenets. He also commandeered State Department resources to advertise his sermon in advance, broadcast it live, and disseminate a video of it afterward using the State Department鈥檚 official social media channels and website. As we explained in a letter sent today to the State Department鈥檚 Inspector General, this is not an appropriate or constitutional use of government resources. The Establishment Clause of the First Amendment prohibits government officials from using their office to proselytize or promote religious favoritism. All anyone needed to do to confirm that the State Department crossed this constitutional line was visit the department鈥檚 website over the weekend, which prominently featured Secretary Pompeo鈥檚 sermon, 鈥淏eing a Christian Leader.鈥�
Thus, we鈥檝e demanded that the Inspector General launch an investigation to identify all misappropriations of State Department resources in connection with Friday鈥檚 speech, including the misuse of government employees鈥� time and the department鈥檚 social media accounts, website, and other technical resources. We also filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with the State Department, seeking all documents relating to this matter.While Secretary Pompeo was sermonizing in Tennessee, another member of Trump鈥檚 cabinet, Attorney General William Barr, was delivering his own problematic speech at University of Notre Dame Law School in South Bend, Indiana. From the start, the Trump administration has made clear that it favors Christians, or at least those Christians who fall in line with its , anti-immigration, anti-abortion, anti-LGBTQ political agenda. Trump officials have twisted religious-liberty principles beyond recognition in an unrepentant and unyielding effort to protect and extend religious privilege to these select few Christians. But Barr鈥檚 address Friday took things even further, incorrectly pushing the view that free government is 鈥渙nly suitable and sustainable for a religious people,鈥� and suggesting that those who don鈥檛 subscribe to 鈥淐hristian morality鈥� are 鈥渇oes鈥� of democracy. In the process, he railed at length against non-theists 鈥� or 鈥渟ecularists鈥� as he calls them 鈥� accusing them of being immoral and plotting the 鈥渙rganized destruction鈥� of religion. According to him, without religion, humans are 鈥渆nslaved鈥� by 鈥渢he unbridled pursuit of personal appetites at the expense of the common good鈥� and 鈥渢he possibility of any healthy community life crumbles.鈥� For an administration that claims to lead the fight against persecution based on religious belief, Trump officials are certainly comfortable denigrating and demonizing huge numbers of people based solely on *checks notes* what they believe or don鈥檛.In Barr鈥檚 view, which is shared by many Trump administration officials, the United States was founded as a Christian nation and must return to its purported roots. He鈥檚 wrong. It鈥檚 true that most people were Christian at the founding of our country and that Christianity enjoys a majority-faith status even today. But the Constitution establishes a secular government because the framers were wise enough to recognize that faith (or lack thereof) should not determine an individual鈥檚 political standing within our society and that religious freedom thrives best when the government remains neutral and avoids religious favoritism. If only the Trump administration would heed their good judgment.
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Press ReleaseMay 2025
Free Speech
Religious Liberty
Aclu Moves To Dismiss Lawsuit That Seeks To Punish Non-profit Advocacy Against Religious Activities In Oklahoma Schools. Explore Press Release.吃瓜直播 Moves to Dismiss Lawsuit That Seeks to Punish Non-Profit Advocacy against Religious Activities in Oklahoma Schools
OKLAHOMA CITY 鈥� Today, the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit against it by the Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE). FFRF sent letters to public schools in Oklahoma objecting to religious activities, prompting State Superintendent Ryan Walters and the Oklahoma Department of Education to file a 鈥淪LAPP鈥� suit seeking to punish its constitutionally protected speech. The state鈥檚 Department of Education has failed to identify any actual violation of law. 鈥淲e are proud of the work we are doing to protect the rights of conscience of public school children in Oklahoma,鈥� said Annie Laurie Gaylor, FFRF co-president. 鈥淭his frivolous lawsuit by Ryan Walters seeks to silence FFRF, and we are not going to allow that to happen.鈥� FFRF is represented by the 吃瓜直播 and the 吃瓜直播 of Oklahoma. This 鈥淪trategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation鈥� (SLAPP) seeks to chill the free speech and petition rights of FFRF. SLAPP suits are used to weaponize the legal system to punish and silence constitutionally protected speech. 鈥淎dvocacy organizations have the right to criticize government policy and push for change,鈥� said Megan Lambert, legal director of the 吃瓜直播 of Oklahoma. 鈥淭his lawsuit is just another in a long line of political stunts by OSDE as it seeks to silence and punish dissent. We will vigorously defend FFRF鈥檚 First Amendment rights against the Department鈥檚 abuse of the legal process.鈥� 鈥淥ur client has not violated any law by speaking out against religious activities in Oklahoma public schools,鈥� said Vera Eidelman, senior staff attorney with the 吃瓜直播鈥檚 Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project. 鈥淭his lawsuit has one goal: to chill our client鈥檚 ability to petition the government. This is an abusive legal tactic intended to punish people and organizations for speaking out and fighting back against government policies.鈥� The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma. The motion can be viewed online here. -
Press ReleaseApr 2025
Religious Liberty
Aclu Urges Supreme Court To Reject Mandatory Opt-outs From Maryland School District鈥檚 Inclusive English Language Arts Curriculum. Explore Press Release.吃瓜直播 Urges Supreme Court to Reject Mandatory Opt-Outs from Maryland School District鈥檚 Inclusive English Language Arts Curriculum
WASHINGTON 鈥� The 吃瓜直播 and 吃瓜直播 of Maryland filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court today in Mahmoud v. Taylor, urging the court to reject a challenge to a Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) policy barring opt-outs from its inclusive English Language Arts (ELA) curriculum. Through children鈥檚 literature, the ELA curriculum acquaints students with a diversity of viewpoints and people in their community, including LGBTQ peers and their families. The brief argues that, because the 鈥渘o opt-out鈥� policy is religion-neutral and applies regardless of the reason for objection, the policy should not be analyzed under a 鈥渟trict scrutiny鈥� legal standard and should instead be subject to a more lenient 鈥渞ational basis鈥� review, which is easily satisfied in the case. Although MCPS previously allowed opt-outs for any reason from portions of the ELA curriculum featuring storybooks with LGBTQ characters and themes, the growing number of opt-outs proved be disruptive and divisive. Teachers were forced to divert time and resources to create alternative lessons for students who opted out, and many students simply did not attend school at all for the day. In addition, the opt-outs stigmatized LGBTQ students and those with LGBTQ family members. As a result, MCPS properly barred all ELA opt-outs, preventing further disruption to the classroom environment and the educational mission of the ELA curriculum. The decision prompted a group of parents to sue, asserting a violation of their rights under the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment and other constitutional provisions. 鈥淩eligious liberty is fundamentally important, but it doesn鈥檛 force public schools to exempt students from secular lessons that don鈥檛 align with their families鈥� religious views,鈥� said Daniel Mach, director of the 吃瓜直播鈥檚 Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief. 鈥淢andating opt-outs would wreak havoc on public schools, tying their hands on basic curricular decisions, stoking divisiveness and disruption, and undermining a core purpose of public education 鈥� to prepare students to live in our pluralistic society.鈥� 鈥淚n a time of ever-increasing polarization in our country, exemptions that would require schools to allow children to refuse exposure to materials and curriculum about people from various backgrounds is divisive and harmful,鈥� said Deborah Jeon, legal director for the 吃瓜直播 of Maryland. 鈥淥ur education system should be one that embraces differences as an opportunity to foster understanding and bring people together. Anything else would send ripples of censorship across the country, negatively impacting countless communities and children who deserve a balanced education.鈥� -
Press ReleaseApr 2025
Religious Liberty
Oklahoma Faith Leaders, Education Advocates, And Parents Urge Supreme Court To Block Nation鈥檚 First Religious Public Charter School. Explore Press Release.Oklahoma Faith Leaders, Education Advocates, and Parents Urge Supreme Court to Block Nation鈥檚 First Religious Public Charter School
WASHINGTON, D.C. 鈥� A group of Oklahoma faith leaders, public education advocates, and public-school parents 鈥� who are among the plaintiffs in a lawsuit to stop Oklahoma鈥檚 creation of the nation鈥檚 first religious public charter school 鈥� today urged the U.S. Supreme Court to protect religious freedom and public education by affirming that charter schools are public schools that must be secular and open to all students. In an amicus brief filed today in Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board v. Drummond, the group explained that the Oklahoma Supreme Court correctly ruled last year that Oklahoma鈥檚 charter schools are public schools and, as governmental entities, must abide by the U.S. Constitution鈥檚 protections for religious freedom and church-state separation. Therefore, the proposed St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School, which intends to indoctrinate students in one religion, cannot operate as a public charter school. The amici, which include OKPLAC (the Oklahoma Parent Legislative Advocacy Coalition) and eight Oklahoman taxpayers, are plaintiffs in OKPLAC v. Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board, a separate lawsuit in Oklahoma state court challenging the charter school board鈥檚 approval of St. Isidore鈥檚 application to become a public school. That case is on hold while the case before the U.S. Supreme Court is being resolved. The plaintiffs in OKPLAC are represented by Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the 吃瓜直播, Education Law Center, and Freedom From Religion Foundation, with support from Oklahoma-based counsel Odom & Sparks PLLC and J. Douglas Mann. The organizations issued the following statement: 鈥淭he law is clear: Charter schools are public schools and must be secular and open to all students. The Oklahoma Supreme Court correctly found that the state鈥檚 approval of a religious public charter school was unlawful and unconstitutional. We urge the U.S. Supreme Court to affirm that ruling and safeguard public education, church-state separation, and religious freedom for all. 鈥淥klahoma taxpayers, including our clients, should not be forced to fund a religious public school that plans to indoctrinate students into one religion and discriminate against students and staff. Converting public schools into Sunday schools would be a dangerous sea change for our democracy.鈥� In addition to OKPLAC, today鈥檚 amicus brief was filed on behalf of Melissa Abdo, Krystal Bonsall, Brenda Len茅, Michele Medley, Dr. Bruce Prescott, the Rev. Dr. Mitch Randall, the Rev. Dr. Lori Walke and Erika Wright. The team of attorneys that represents the amici is led by Alex J. Luchenitser of Americans United and includes Luke Anderson of Americans United; Daniel Mach and Heather L. Weaver of the 吃瓜直播; Robert Kim, Jessica Levin and Wendy Lecker of Education Law Center; Patrick Elliott of FFRF; Benjamin H. Odom, John H. Sparks, Michael W. Ridgeway, and Lisa M. Mason of Odom & Sparks; and J. Douglas Mann. -
Press ReleaseMar 2025
Religious Liberty
Oklahoma Supreme Court Blocks Superintendent Ryan Walters鈥� Attempts To Purchase Bibles And Bible-infused Instructional Materials. Explore Press Release.Oklahoma Supreme Court blocks Superintendent Ryan Walters鈥� attempts to purchase Bibles and Bible-infused instructional materials
Oklahoma City 鈥� In a victory for religious freedom, public education and church-state separation, the Oklahoma Supreme Court today temporarily blocked Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters and the Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE) from spending taxpayer dollars on Bibles and Bible-infused instructional materials. The order came in the lawsuit Rev. Lori Walke v. Ryan Walters, which was filed in October 2024 on behalf of 32 Oklahoma families, teachers and faith leaders. The plaintiffs are represented by Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the 吃瓜直播, the 吃瓜直播 of Oklahoma Foundation, the Freedom From Religion Foundation and Oklahoma Appleseed Center for Law & Justice. The Court鈥檚 order temporarily stayed 鈥渨ork on any new request by the OSDE for the purchase of Bibles.鈥� In addition, the order paused work on a request for proposals issued by OSDE on February 21, 2025. This request for proposals sought suppliers for 鈥渟upplemental instructional materials that effectively integrate the Bible and character education into elementary-level social studies curriculum.鈥� The organizations representing the plaintiffs will continue fighting Walters鈥� Bible-education mandate and additional filings are expected soon. They issued the following joint statement on the win: 鈥淭his victory is an important step toward protecting the religious freedom of every student and parent in Oklahoma. Superintendent Ryan Walters has been abusing his power and the court checked those abuses today. Our diverse coalition of families and clergy remains united against Walters鈥檚 extremism and in favor of a core First Amendment principle: the separation of church and state.