DOJ Releases Guidance Strengthening Religious Liberty Protections

The U.S. Department of Justice released updated guidance strengthening federal protections for religious liberty.

The DOJ’s updated memorandum, released on July 23, revises and expands the department’s 2017 Religious Liberty Guidelines in light of significant developments over the last nine years.

“Religious liberty is one of our Nation’s founding principles and a fundamental right guaranteed by the Constitution,” Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a press release.

“It is essential that federal agencies fully respect and protect the ability of all Americans to live out their faith in daily life, including in their interactions with the federal government.”

The DOJ’s updates in the guidance include:

• Integration of recent Supreme Court precedent. Recent court decisions clarify the scope of the First Amendment, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA’s) broad protection of religious liberty, and the requirement of equal treatment towards religious organizations in government programs.
• Protection of parental rights. The Supreme Court’s recent precedents confirm the Constitution protects parents’ right to direct the upbringing of their children.
• Reaffirmation of church autonomy. Constitutional protections bar government interference in internal religious governance, including employment.
• Expanded direction for federal agencies. Agencies must consider religious-liberty impacts when developing rules and policies.
• Clarified protections in federal employment. Agencies must follow recent Office of Legal Counsel opinions when accommodating religious expression and practice in the workplace.
• Safeguards for religious organizations in federal contracting and grant programs. Agencies may not condition an individual’s participation in federal programs on relinquishing their religious character or hiring rights. Religious organizations must be permitted to compete on equal footing with secular organizations.

“The new religious liberty guidance instructs agencies on how to protect one of our most fundamental constitutional guarantees: religious liberty,” said Assistant Attorney General Dan Burrows for the DOJ’s Office of Legal Policy.

“It helps ensure that federal actions do not discriminate on the basis of religion and furthers the protection of both individual practitioners and religious organizations.”

This isn’t the first action the Trump administration has taken to protect religious liberty. On May 1, 2025, President Donald Trump established the Religious Liberty Commission which was tasked with “safeguarding and promoting America’s founding principle of religious freedom.”

Members of the commission included Reverend Franklin Graham, Dr. Ben Carson, New York Archbishop Timothy Cardinal Dolan, Bishop Robert Barron, Kristen Waggoner, Kelly Shackelford, Ryan Anderson, Alveda King and others.

Days before our nation’s 250th anniversary, the commission released its final 224-page report including specific policy recommendations to safeguard our nation’s first freedom.

It was one of our nation’s foremost founding fathers, Alexander Hamilton, who said, “Remember civil and religious liberty always go together, if the foundation of the one be sapped, the other will fall of course.”

The Trump administration deserves great credit for prioritizing religious freedom and taking concrete steps to secure one of our most important liberties.

Related articles and resources:

The Truth About Religious Freedom and Free Speech

Faith, Freedom, and the Future of America

Optimism, Faith and Freedom in America

Religious Freedom is Not a Problem to Be Managed

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