(PJ Media)—Religious liberty can be something we take for granted — until someone takes it away from us. Federal employees just received welcome news from the Trump administration. A memo that the Office of Personnel Management issued earlier this week says that federal employees may practice their faith in public and private areas of the workplace, including sharing their faith with co-workers.
The memo cites President Donald Trump’s executive orders on eliminating anti-Christian bias and establishing a Religious Liberty Commission. Scott Kupor, director of the Office of Personnel Management, cited federal statutes and court cases to bolster the notion that First Amendment religious freedom extends into the federal workforce.
“The Federal workforce should be a welcoming place for Federal employees who practice a religious faith,” Kupor writes. “Allowing religious discrimination in the Federal workplace violates the law. It also threatens to adversely impact recruitment and retention of highly-qualified employees of faith.”
The memo lays out conduct that employees can engage in. People of faith can display artwork, wear jewelry that reflects their beliefs, and even keep Bibles on their desks. The guidelines allow for “other indicia of religion (such as crosses, crucifixes, and mezuzahs) on their desks, on their person, and in their assigned workspaces.”
The new guidance allows groups of employees to gather for Bible studies or times of prayer as long as those gatherings don’t take place during work hours. “Agencies should not restrict such expressions based merely on hypothetical or potential concerns,” the memo states.
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