The Trump administration has issued guidance clarifying that federal employees are free to express their religious views in the workplace — and sometimes in public as well.
Trump’s Office of Personnel Management has issued a memorandum saying that employees may pray, display religious personal items, hold group gatherings, or even invite colleagues to church without fear of discrimination or retaliation.
“Federal employees should never have to choose between their faith and their career,” OPM Director Scott Kupor said in a release. “This guidance ensures the federal workplace is not just compliant with the law but welcoming to Americans of all faiths. Under President Trump’s leadership, we are restoring constitutional freedoms and making government a place where people of faith are respected, not sidelined.”
OPM separately released guidance earlier this month about reasonable accommodations for religious employees, providing examples of protected conduct.
In the memo, OPM officials said the federal workforce should be a welcoming place for employees who practice a religious faith and that protecting expression is required by law and important for recruitment and retention.
Trump has made religious freedom a key plank of his second term, signing an executive order in February that aimed to “end the war on Christians” and another that targeted antisemitism.
The final page of the memo lists examples of protected religious expression, such as employees keeping Bibles on their desks and reading them during breaks, wearing cross necklaces or clothing displaying religious messages, or gathering in prayer groups with other employees.
During breaks, employees may also speak to their coworkers about why they believe their faith is correct, though they should stop if the nonadherent asks them to.
“Employees may engage in conversations regarding religious topics with fellow employees, including attempting to persuade others of the correctness of their own religious views, provided that such efforts are not harassing in nature,” the memo reads.
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CatholicVote President Kelsey Reinhardt praised the news, saying that faith should be expressed publicly as well as privately.
“From the very founding of our nation, faith was not relegated to the private sphere but boldly woven into the fabric of public life,’ Reinhardt said. “Our greatest leaders understood that religious liberty forms the backbone of a free and virtuous society.”