New Policy Boosts Religious Freedom for Federal Employees

Federal workers will be allowed to express their religious beliefs and share their faith in the workplace under a policy issued by the Office of Personnel Management on Monday.

“The federal workforce should be a welcoming place for federal employees who practice a religious faith,” according to a memo from the agency. “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.”

Individuals and groups can use Bibles, rosaries and other objects during breaktime but not while on duty. Wearables such as crosses and T-shirts with religious messages also are permitted under the new policy. Employees will be allowed to discuss and share their faith with coworkers if they are interested.

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“Federal employees should never have to choose between their faith and their career,” said Scott Kupor, director of the Office of Management and Budget. “This guidance ensures the federal workplace is not just compliant with the law but welcoming to Americans of all faiths. Under President Trumpʼs leadership, we are restoring constitutional freedoms and making government a place where people of faith are respected, not sidelined.”

Previously sidelined

Many government workers previously reported feeling sidelined or discriminated against under DEI-focused polices during the Biden administration. Some challenged the policies in court. Federal agencies processed thousands of harassment complaints and made formal findings in dozens of cases involving discrimination in the federal sector from 2021 to 2024, indicating that workplace discrimination issues persisted during the Biden administration according to the 2023 EEOC Annual Performance report.

The agency issued another memo earlier this month providing guidance on reasonable accommodations for religious observance. Telework, paid time off and flexible work schedules are among the religious accommodations it suggested to ensure employees can observe religious holidays or conduct other religious practices at specific times.

“For ordinary Catholics serving in government and across the nation, these commitments are not mere policy; they are a restoration of our most fundamental freedoms,” said Kelsey Reinhardt, president of Catholic Vote, a conservative Catholic activist group, according to “National Review.” “Living our faith in public, whether by displaying sacramentals on our desks, pausing to pray on a busy workday or thoughtfully sharing the hope that animates us; has always been part of the American promise.”

Andrew Walker, an associate dean at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, said the new policy merely resets the rules back to neutrality.

“I have no problem with it whatsoever,” he told “Politico.” “To me, that’s simply reaffirming the First Amendment, that has proper caveats if you’re not engaging in harassing behavior. I think this is just reiterating basic principles of the First Amendment.”

–Lee Hartman