Trump Strengthens Religious Liberty for Parental Rights and Religious Autonomy

Last week, the U.S. Department of Justice released a memo directing the executive branch to expand religious liberty protections in the areas of parental rights and religious autonomy to broadly protect religious exercise.

The guidance memo, titled “Federal Law Protections for Religious Liberty,” is the first revision to such guidance since 2017. The new guidelines reflect significant U.S. Supreme Court rulings from the last nine years involving the First Amendment, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, Title VII, and stipulates policy on the church autonomy doctrine, neutrality, and parental rights.

“Religious liberty is not merely a right to personal religious beliefs or even to worship in a particular place,” reads the memo. “It also encompasses religious observance and practice as displayed in a person’s daily life. Except in the narrowest circumstances, no one should be forced to choose between living out his or her faith and complying with the law.”

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The referenced Supreme Court rulings included Mahmoud v. Taylor, which favored parents’ ability to opt their children out of LGBT-themed instruction on religious grounds; Carson v. Makin where a Maine tuition program could not exclude religious schools; Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, where a high school football coach was found to be unlawfully fired for silent on-field prayers; and Our Lady of Guadalupe Sch. v. Morrissey-Berru, which sided with a faith-based school in making hiring decisions without government interference.

While the guidance delivered 21 principles to guide the administration in protecting religious liberties, three key policy points worth noting emerge:

Parental Rights

The memo states that “parents have the right to direct the upbringing and education of the children,” which “extends beyond a mere right to teach religion in the confines of one’s home and encompasses the choices parents make for their children outside the home.” According to the guidance, the government may not:

• Interfere with parental rights to direct the religious upbringing of their children.
• Condition access to public benefits and educational opportunities “upon parents’ willingness to surrender their religious freedom.”

Religious Autonomy Protection

“Government may not interfere with the autonomy of a religious organization,” reads the memo. Under the guidance:

• Federal agencies may not intervene with a religious organization’s decisions on doctrine, leadership, ministry qualifications, membership, or internal discipline.
• Religious employers, including churches, ministries, schools, and other religious organizations may hire and retain employees whose beliefs and conduct align with their religious mission and values.
• Religious institutions may not be required to “alter” their character, mission, practices or beliefs to participate in government programs.

Neutrality Towards Religion

The memo directs federal agencies to remain neutral toward religion and may not use laws, regulations, funding decisions, or other enforcement actions “as a proxy for religious discrimination.” Federal agencies are prohibited from:

• Singling out religious activity for unfavorable treatment or enforcement of neutral laws while permitting comparable secular activity.
• Excluding religious organizations from grants, contracts, aid programs, or public benefits solely because they are religious.

Federal agencies are directed to:

• Assess regulations and policies for potential burdens on religious exercise and consider reasonable accommodations when appropriate.
• The Establishment Clause must be interpreted “by reference to historical practices and understandings, with the knowledge that officials in all three branches of government have acknowledged the role of religion and prayer in American life since the Founding.”

Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver said, “The updated religious liberty guidance from the Department of Justice is a testament that religious freedom is not a right granted by government, rather it is a right to be protected by government. A government should act as a shield for religious liberty, parental rights, and religious autonomy, and should never be a weapon that targets, penalizes, or silences people of faith. Religious people, parents, and organizations should never be forced to choose between their beliefs and full participation in public life.”