The Daily Fuckup

The Justice Department on Thursday issued updated guidance for federal agencies on religious liberty, replacing a 2017 framework and saying the new memo reflects significant Supreme Court decisions and other legal developments over the past nine years. The department said the guidance is meant to help executive agencies handle religion-related questions in programs, employment, contracting, rulemaking, and enforcement.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said the update is intended to make clear that the federal government must respect and protect Americans’ ability to live according to their faith. The memo says agencies should follow the Constitution, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, Title VII, and other applicable law, and it defines religious exercise broadly to include conduct as well as belief and worship.

The guidance directs agencies to factor religious-liberty issues into policy development, review proposals for compliance, and account for concerns raised during notice-and-comment periods. It also addresses workplace accommodations, religious expression, and protections for religious organizations that participate in federal programs and grants.

The document is an internal instruction for executive branch agencies, not a statute or regulation. Its practical effect will depend on how agencies apply it, but the administration has now put a fresh religious-liberty framework in place for the first time since 2017.