The IRS under the Biden administration denied tax-exempt status to a Christian organization after determining that its Bible-based teachings were too closely aligned with Republican political views, according to a sweeping new report from the Department of Justice examining alleged religious bias across the federal government.
According to the report, former Director Stephen A. Martin of Exempt Organizations, Rulings and Agreements told the organization that its “Bible teachings are typically affiliated with the [Republican] party and candidates,” concluding that this “disqualifies you from exemption under IRC Section 501(c)(3).” The rhetoric, laid out in the report’s findings, stands as one of the most direct examples cited of viewpoint-based discrimination tied explicitly to religious groups.
The report further alleges that the Biden-era IRS failed to apply the Johnson Amendment, which restricts political activity by tax-exempt organizations, in a viewpoint-neutral manner, “appearing to investigate Christians whose religious values aligned with conservative political views, while appearing to ignore open endorsements of liberal candidates at other churches.”
This unbalanced and discriminatory dynamic reflected a broader concern that religious doctrine itself was effectively treated as political activity when it intersected with contentious policy debates, the report adds, raising questions about whether faith-based positions were subjected to a different standard of scrutiny than other forms of expression.
The conclusions come from a 566-page report released Thursday by the DOJ’s Task Force to Eradicate Anti-Christian Bias, an interagency review launched after President Donald Trump directed federal officials last year to examine whether prior policies discriminated against Christians.
Across multiple agencies, the report argues that the Biden administration “generally tolerated religious beliefs that were privately held” but “zealously pursued actions to limit Christians’ ability to act in accordance with their faith.”
In the workplace, the report describes what it calls a “general reluctance to extend First Amendment rights to religious-based conduct” during the Biden administration’s COVID-19 vaccine mandates. It states that requests for religious accommodations were often “summarily denied or remained pending indefinitely,” leaving employees effectively sidelined.
The consequences, according to the report, were significant. Federal workers who sought exemptions were “demoted,” “reprimanded,” “denied pay and benefits,” or even “physically banned from the office,” while others lost promotions or security clearances.
The report also highlights Biden administration policies affecting foster care and family services, arguing that federal guidance “prevent[ed] foster children from being placed with Christian foster families” that did not fully align with the administration’s views on gender identity. As a result, some families “lost their licenses,” in certain cases “dissolving foster families that had been in place for years.”
Education enforcement is another focal point. The report points to actions taken against Christian universities, including a $37.7 million fine against Grand Canyon University and a $14 million fine against Liberty University.
It emphasizes that those penalties “dwarfed” fines issued in connection with the Jerry Sandusky and Larry Nassar sexual abuse scandals, framing the disparity as evidence of disproportionate enforcement.
Law enforcement practices also come under scrutiny. The report revisits the FBI’s 2023 Richmond field office memo that examined “radical traditionalist” Catholics, stating that agents “began to consider traditional Catholics as potential violent extremists or domestic terrorists” based on their religious views and practices.
The memo was later disavowed by then-FBI Director Christopher Wray and Attorney General Merrick Garland, but the report notes that current FBI leadership conducted a “full deep dive” into the incident. FBI Director Kash Patel said the bureau ultimately “jettisoned all relationships” with outside groups like the Southern Poverty Law Center that contributed to the analysis, according to the report’s account.
The report also renews criticism of the Biden administration’s use of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, arguing that the DOJ “pursued aggressive prosecutions against non-violent, pro-life, Christian demonstrators” while responding “less aggressively to violent attacks against pregnancy resource centers.”
In public settings, the report describes what it calls efforts to “regulate and suppress religious speech that it did not like.” It cites examples including federally managed museums asking visitors to remove religious attire and the denial of permits for religious gatherings on federal land, citing an incident that took place in 2023 at the National Air and Space Museum where a groups of Catholics were asked to remove beanies that contained the phrase “Rosary Pro-Life” on them.
The report further alleges that Christians were sidelined in federal outreach. At the Department of Homeland Security, it notes that “only two of sixty-one faith-based engagements involved Christians,” despite Christians making up a majority of religious residents in the country.
Taken together, the report concludes that the Biden administration’s policies “penalized Christians who lived in accordance with their beliefs” and created a system in which they were “free only to hold religious beliefs, not act on them.”
BIDEN DOJ WITHHELD EVIDENCE IN FACE ACT TRIALS
Many of the incidents cited in the report were previously reported or litigated during Biden’s presidency. However, the task force frames its findings as a comprehensive review that consolidates those disputes into what it describes as a consistent pattern of bias across federal agencies.
The report does not impose penalties but recommends reviewing prior enforcement decisions and revising agency guidance to ensure what it calls “equal justice under law for all Americans.”