Dear Friend,
Imagine sitting at your desk at work, when a colleague walks up to you and starts talking about his religion; one that you don’t share. He tells you that his church is the only one that can save you from certain hellfire and damnation.
You try to interject that you are not interested, but your colleague continues. Wouldn’t you rather be on the safe side and surround yourself with people who have a strong ethical compass, want to serve the community, and celebrate important life milestones together, he asks. You start to say that you already do, just not in his particular house of worship, but the barrage continues: he explains how your willfulness is a sign of dark forces having taken a hold of your heart and mind, and that he has just the right remedy for what is wrong with you.
You pick up the phone to talk to your supervisor about this unwanted behavior. Certainly, that sort of thing is not permitted in the workplace. To your surprise, the supervisor informs you that the Trump administration has just issued a memo permitting just such proselytizing, along with the prominent display of religious symbols, both in your workspace and on your person. Your supervisor adds that she herself has just updated her office decor; you should come over and see it.
For federal employees, that’s the new reality under the Trump administration. In an effort to further undermine the separation of church and state, the Office of Personnel Management issued a memo that cloaks the issue in the now-familiar, intentionally misleading language of “religious freedom.” And while federal employees are reminded that they “should” stop proselytizing when asked, there is nothing requiring them to do so.
But it’s not just federal employees who are affected by this change. You may find yourself on the receiving end of a doctor’s prayer at the VA, or a staffer’s religious convictions when you apply for Social Security. Public-facing federal employees are now free to tell you all about their Lord and Savior during appointments.
The memo states that non-religious views — including opinions on politics, economics, and other topics — are not protected by the policy. What about atheists? That remains to be seen.
While atheists are generally protected by the same laws and policies that protect religious adherents, this administration and their Christian Nationalist backers have shown, time and time again, that they have no interest in equal application of the law as it relates to minority viewpoints or identities. Examples in the memo about new “religious freedoms” are limited to Christians and Jews, ignoring almost half of Americans.
As I told Politico when they approached us for comment about this latest attack on the First Amendment, these new rules protect exactly the sort of people who are most likely to abuse them. Unlike reactionary Evangelical Christians or Christian Nationalist extremists, our members who are federal employees are there to do the people’s work, not to debate their coworkers about the rightness or wrongness of their religious views.
And while I’m confident that a member of American Atheists who is being preached at by their coworkers — or their supervisor — will have no problem asserting their rights, I remain skeptical that this administration would ever take any disciplinary action against a conservative Christian who refused to stop when asked.
We’ve already started reaching out to federal workers who may be affected by this policy. We’re working to ensure that their rights are protected in the workplace because no one should have to deal with coercive religious proselytizing.
As a supporter of American Atheists, you’ve already shown that you have the courage of your convictions. You’ve demonstrated that by standing with us, by participating in action alerts, by getting involved in your community, or by supporting our work financially — with that, you’ve done something extraordinary.
But people shouldn’t have to do the extraordinary just to get through the day at work. Americans needing help with their Medicare claims or filing their taxes shouldn’t have to politely nod and smile while a federal employee preaches at them. Religious neutrality isn’t just the best way to protect our rights — it’s common sense.
And that, sadly, is in short supply.
In solidarity,
Nick Fish
President
P.S. — With so many threats to our rights and to our democracy, we are grateful for your partnership and support. We may not have the billionaire backers the Christian Nationalist lobby does, but we have something they never will: the majority of Americans on our side. Help us continue our work building a movement to push back against this dangerous, anti-democratic movement by supporting American Atheists with a tax-deductible donation today!
American Atheists is a 501(c)(3) non-partisan, nonprofit educational organization that relies on the support of members like you. Contributions are tax-deductible. Our Federal Tax ID Number is 74-2466507, and our Combined Federal Campaign number is 52217.
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