News

President’s Religious Liberty Commission Presents Final Report

by First Liberty Institute • 3 minutes

Just in time to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary of independence, the Religious Liberty Commission presented its draft report to the President.  

The Commission spent months hearing testimony from teachers, students, parents, military chaplains, service members, healthcare professionals, private-sector employees, and religious leaders who shared firsthand accounts of discrimination because of their faith. 

The result is a comprehensive set of recommendations to help ensure that every American can freely exercise their faith without fear of government censorship or retaliation. 

“This is a great gift to every American, and it’s especially appropriate on the 250th birthday of our country,” said First Liberty President & CEO Kelly Shackelford—a member of the Commission. “We are delivering recommendations to improve religious freedom for all Americans nationwide, and we have a President of action.” 

The Commission presented 12 key recommendations to strengthen religious liberty for all Americans:  

• Instruct the Department of Justice to issue guidance clarifying the proper understanding of the Establishment Clause and the phrase “separation of Church and State.”
• The Department of Justice, Department of Health and Human Services, and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission shall issue “Know Your Rights” Posters and FAQ for students, parents, public school teachers and administrators, religious leaders, religious institutions, healthcare workers, and military service members.
• Any public official who alleges a person under their supervision has improperly engaged in religious expression must provide a written explanation of the alleged violation to the person accused within 30 days of any action and explain that charge based upon a specific constitutional provision or provision of law.
• Instruct the Department of Justice, Department of Health and Human Services, and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, to explore opportunities to create religious-liberty-violation hotlines/online portals for students, parents, teachers, employees and others to obtain support in the face of religious liberty violations.
• Nominate and confirm federal judges with the courage to decide religious liberty cases on the merits where warranted, rather than engage in improper judicial avoidance.
• Ask the Department of Justice to create a religious liberty task force to track and prioritize litigation protecting religious liberty.
• Combat anti-Semitism through enforcement of civil rights laws, litigation of credible allegations of anti-Semitic discrimination and violence, and civic education
• Protect religious Americans from government-led litigation targeting their free exercise
• Repeal the Johnson Amendment which purports to give the government authority to regulate religious leaders’ sermons and spiritual guidance to their communities.
• Order the Department of War to streamline and improve the religious accommodation process.
• Continue efforts to restore the retirement or re-enlistment eligibility of service members who lost employment, health insurance, pensions, and other benefits because of their religious beliefs about the COVID-19 vaccine.
• Honor the courage of religious liberty heroes through creating a Presidential Medal of Religious Liberty and First Freedom Hero Awards to recognize Americans who stand up for religious freedom and play an indispensable role in protecting citizens’ constitutional rights.
   

“Over the past 250 years, religious liberty has been indispensable to all the movements that seek to fulfill the promise of the Declaration of Independence,” the report states. “But as we have seen in recent decades, religious liberty must be protected, preserved, and cherished. That responsibility belongs to every generation. Our hope and prayer is that Americans will meet that responsibility with the same wisdom, courage, and devotion to freedom that have sustained our nation for 250 years.”