The Freedom From Religion Foundation decries the latest effort by Attorney General Pam Bondi and the Trump administration to promote Christian nationalism under the misleading pretense of combating “anti-Christian bias.”
On Tuesday, Bondi convened the inaugural meeting of the so-called “Eradicating Anti-Christian Bias” Task Force — an initiative created to advance a sweeping presidential executive order. That order claims to protect Christians in government, schools and public life, but in practice it serves as a vehicle to give Christianity preferential treatment.
The meeting, held in Washington, D.C., included top members of the Trump cabinet, such as Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., FBI Director Kash Patel and Veterans Affairs Secretary Douglas Collins. The focus was explicitly on expanding protections for Christians — not on addressing discrimination in any neutral or inclusive way.
Bondi outlined the task force’s mission as targeting any “unlawful anti-Christian policies, practices, or conduct” in federal government agencies and promised to “find and fix” policies that she claims contribute to anti-Christian bias.
FFRF rejects this framing as both disingenuous and dangerous. The creation of this task force is part of a larger effort by the Trump administration to distort the idea of religious freedom in order to justify unconstitutional religious favoritism and dismantle the wall of separation between church and state.
“This task force isn’t about preventing discrimination — it’s about weaponizing the federal government to push a Christian nationalist agenda,” says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. “There is no epidemic of anti-Christian bias in the United States. If anything, it’s religious minorities and the nonreligious who face institutional exclusion. This is a political project, not a civil rights one.”
Also on Tuesday, VA Secretary Douglas Collins — a former Southern Baptist pastor and Air Force chaplain turned politician — instructed all VA employees to report perceived instances of “anti-Christian bias.” In a department-wide email, Collins invited staff to submit complaints to a dedicated government email account: [email protected].
According to the email, examples of bias include denied accommodation requests, “mistreatment” for displaying Christian symbols, and even “failure to be promoted for religious reasons.” The email lists 11 broad and highly subjective categories of alleged bias — some of which suggest efforts to undermine LGBTQ-plus protections, reproductive health care or vaccine policies under the guise of religious liberty.
“This is a government-run tip line encouraging people to report their coworkers for failing to conform to Christian norms,” says Gaylor. “It’s chilling, Orwellian — and utterly inappropriate for a pluralistic democracy.”
President Trump has echoed these themes, stating that during “Holy Week”:
“My administration renews its promise to defend the Christian faith in our schools, military, workplaces, hospitals and halls of government. We will never waver in safeguarding the right to religious liberty, upholding the dignity of life, and protecting God in our public square.”
These developments are not isolated, however. They are part of a coordinated, deeply troubling effort by the Trump administration to institutionalize Christian nationalism under the guise of religious liberty. From the formation of a task force focused solely on Christian grievances, to government-sponsored reporting of perceived “anti-Christian bias,” to presidential declarations of intent to “bring religion back” into public life. This is a full-scale campaign to erode the constitutional separation between church and state.
FFRF urges lawmakers, the media and the public to recognize these efforts for what they are: a dangerous reshaping of government to serve a narrow religious agenda. True religious freedom can only thrive in a secular government that protects the rights of all, believers and nonbelievers alike.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a U.S.-based nonprofit dedicated to promoting the constitutional principle of separation between state and church and educating the public on matters of nontheism. With nearly 42,000 members, FFRF advocates for freethinkers’ rights. For more information, visit ffrf.org.
