“My Administration will not tolerate … unlawful conduct targeting Christians.…My Administration will ensure that any unlawful and improper conduct, policies, or practices that target Christians are identified, terminated, and rectified.”
That’s the key takeaway from Trump’s Executive Order on Eradicating Anti-Christian Bias.
What does that look like in practice? According to Politico, the State Department has ordered employees “to report on any instances of coworkers displaying ‘anti-Christian bias.'” The internal memo allows (but doesn’t require) anonymous reporting and encourages submissions to be “as detailed as possible, including names, dates, [and] locations (e.g., post or domestic office where the incident occurred).”
Yes, Title VII prohibits discrimination against Christians. It also prohibits discrimination on the basis of any religion. And that’s the problem with this EO—and the State Department’s implementation of it. One person’s claim of “anti-Christian bias” may simply be someone else practicing their own non-Christian faith.
“I don’t like how Mohamed prays several times per day. It’s anti-Christian.”
“Why do I have to cover for Leah on Yom Kippur? She gets Christmas off. That’s anti-Christian.”
This isn’t about protecting religious freedom. It’s about weaponizing it. By prioritizing one faith over all others, this Executive Order doesn’t uphold the First Amendment—it undermines it. The State Department’s memo is Exhibit A.
If the government starts policing “anti-Christian bias” without equally protecting Muslims, Jews, atheists, and everyone else, we’re not defending religious liberty. We’re redefining it out of existence.
