A highly alarming aspect of Todd Blanche’s record is being overshadowed as he appears headed toward confirmation as U.S. attorney general.
Blanche has explicitly embraced Christian nationalism and has been determined to use the Justice Department to privilege conservative Christianity. Although Blanche’s nomination has drawn scrutiny over ethics concerns and his close ties to President Trump, the Freedom From Religion Foundation warns that his intent to unite religion and government deserves equal attention. It is shocking that Blanche declared, during a July 30 call organized by the White House Faith Office, that his goal is to ensure that “God is front and center again” in America and that “being a Christian in this country … is actually a benefit.” FFRF is urging senators and the public not to ignore Blanche’s un-American objective to transform the Justice Department into a vehicle for advancing religion.
“Blanche’s words are not those of someone committed to equally serving Americans of every faith — as well as the nearly one-third of U.S. adults who are free from religion,” says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. “They’re the words of a zealot who views the government as a tool to elevate Christianity. The attorney general’s duty is to uphold the Constitution and equal justice under the law, not to put God ‘front and center.’”
Blanche’s rhetoric has already been reflected in his actions, FFRF asserts.
Under Blanche’s leadership as acting attorney general, the Justice Department has issued sweeping new guidance on religious liberty. While portrayed as protecting religious freedom, the updated memorandum dramatically expands religious exemptions and privileges while weakening longstanding First Amendment protections.
The guidance embraces a controversial “history and tradition test” for interpreting the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause, echoing claims by Christian nationalists that America was founded as a Christian nation. It broadly authorizes religious activity by federal employees in the workplace, rejects efforts to remove government endorsements of religion from public life, expands access to taxpayer funding for religious organizations and significantly strengthens religious accommodation claims against employers and federal agencies.
The guidance also directs federal agencies to proactively advance religious liberty in policymaking, broadens protections for religious organizations that discriminate in hiring and contracting, and threatens government officials with personal liability under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act for decisions that allegedly burden religion. According to FFRF, the cumulative effect is to institutionalize Christian privilege while steadily eroding the constitutional principle of separation between state and church.
Blanche’s public statements reinforce that goal.When the nation’s chief law enforcement officer says his goal is to ensure Christians enjoy special favor, Americans should take him at his word.
If confirmed, Todd Blanche would assume enormous authority over civil rights enforcement, constitutional litigation and the federal government’s interpretation of religious liberty. His own words make clear that Americans should expect an attorney general committed to advancing a Christian nationalist agenda.
“FFRF has spent nearly 50 years defending the First Amendment against government-sponsored religion, and we will continue to vigorously oppose every unconstitutional effort by the Justice Department to dismantle the wall of separation protecting American freedom of conscience,” adds Gaylor.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a U.S.-based nonprofit dedicated to defending the constitutional principle of separation between state and church and educating the public on matters relating to nontheism. With more than 40,000 members, FFRF is the largest association of freethinkers (atheists, agnostics and humanists) in North America. For more information, visit ffrf.org.
