The administration is standing by the Constitution – protecting your right to express your faith publicly.
What happened? The U.S. Office of Personnel Management issued a memo last week clarifying the extent to which on-the-job religious expression is permitted for government employees.
How much is permitted? Quite a bit, we're happy to report.
Here are some of the examples of permitted expression mentioned in the memo:
Bibles, rosary beads, or tefillin (a Jewish devotional object) may be kept on an employee's desk for use during breaks.
Crosses may be worn, as well as clothing displaying a religious message.
Employees may form prayer groups, gather for prayer, or study scripture or holy books at the office when off-duty.
During a break, an employee may politely express why his faith is correct and encourage another to re-think his religious beliefs (but the employee must stop such attempts if the person being spoken to requests it).
A park ranger leading a tour may join a tour group in prayer.
Veterans Affairs (VA) hospital doctors may pray over patients for their recovery.
The memo goes into much more detail, but its overall message is deeply reassuring for those in the federal workforce who love their faith.
CatholicVote is urging state and local governments, as well as corporate HR departments, to take note… Religion isn't just something we do on Sundays behind closed doors.
The Founding Fathers never intended that, and now the Trump administration is reminding Americans: those who work in service to our great nation have a God-given right to freely express and practice their faith.
This is a great shift in a larger cultural battle. For too long, believers were embarrassed about sharing their faith in the public square and workers of the federal government were no exception.
It should never again come to that.
From the very founding of our nation, religious expression was not relegated to the private sphere but boldly woven into the fabric of public life. Our greatest leaders understood that religious liberty forms the backbone of a free and virtuous society.
It's comforting to know our government still appreciates that fact.
Go forward bravely,
Kelsey Reinhardt
President, CatholicVote
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