The Biden administration finalized rules protecting religious freedom after they were stripped away by Donald Trump

After years of Trump-era regulations that opened the door to religious discrimination by groups receiving taxpayer dollars to provide social services, the Biden administration has finally reversed them… at least as much as they could.

It’s a massive step in the right direction.

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The U.S. government regularly works with faith-based organizations to provide social services to people who need them. There’s nothing wrong with that… assuming the groups don’t use the money to advance their religious beliefs or pressure recipients to adopt them.

In fact, under President Obama in 2016, rules were put in place to let those recipients know what their rights were. Those rules included a ban on religious discrimination for any groups receiving federal funds and a requirement that those groups inform recipients of their religious rights (like telling them they did not have to attend a religious function to receive aid). If a recipient had a fundamental problem with the religious nature of the group providing aid, those groups had to refer recipients to an alternative provider. Most importantly, all recipients could report violations of these protections to the government group administering the programs.

They were sensible rules. They didn’t infringe upon the religious beliefs of any organizations providing help. They simply put more legal rights in the hands of recipients.

President Trump, however, later undid those changes, giving an unnecessary gift to his conservative Christian base.

His administration pushed nine federal agencies to walk back many of those protections. Specifically, faith-based groups receiving federal funding no longer had to refer recipients to alternative providers if those recipients had a religious objection to the group, and recipients did not have to be informed of their legal rights. The new rules also benefitted the faith-based groups, allowing them to perform religious functions using federal funds; the Obama rules required a separation between those two areas. They also allowed faith-based groups to “require attendance” for any activities deemed necessary for recipients getting the services, including religious ones.

The Trump administration claimed those changes were necessary because the previous rules “placed unequal burdens on religious organizations, cast unwarranted suspicion on them, and were in tension with their religious liberty rights.”

But it’s not hard to see how groups receiving taxpayer money could put a burden on the people they’re supposed to help in areas that include “food banks, homeless or domestic violence shelters, job training, and elder care.”

Consider a Christian group offering meals to unhoused people… while asking recipients to join a prayer circle or say grace beforehand. Under the Obama rules, the recipients would be told they don’t have to participate to get the meals, or they could request an alternative place to receive those services, or they could file a complaint with the government. Under the Trump rules, those protections were rescinded.

At the time, Melissa Rogers, who had been the Executive Director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships under Obama, lamented how harmful those changes would be, saying you “can't benefit from protections you don't know you have.”

Those changes were finalized in December of 2020, during Trump’s final weeks in office.

A coalition of religious and non-religious groups soon filed a lawsuit over those changes, saying it would lead to religious discrimination:

[The Trump-era rule change] will make it more difficult for nonreligious people, members of minority faiths, and people whose identities are disapproved of or condemned by faith-based providers to obtain these federally funded, often essential services. It also makes it more difficult to report violations of the remaining nondiscrimination protections to the agencies providing funding.

The lawsuit even mentioned a specific example involving atheists:

In a recent study by American Atheists of nearly 34,000 nonreligious people, substantial numbers reported negative experiences in receiving mental health, substance abuse, reproductive health, and other health services because of their nonreligious identity, all of which are services frequently supported with federal funding.

There were also legal problems with the Trump-era rule changes, including the fact that the public wasn’t allowed to comment on them in a timely fashion and that the final rule didn’t take into consideration the potential harms the changes would cause.

The lawsuit pointed out that groups like the Freedom From Religion Foundation and American Atheists would have to devote more resources to informing recipients of federal aid about their religious rights, “imped[ing] its ability to pursue its mission of assisting complainants and [requiring] a diversion of resources in response.”

Then Joe Biden became president. And Melissa Rogers, who criticized those Trump-era changes, took over the (re-established) White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. The Biden administration promised to look into reversing those changes and the lawsuit was put on hold while they worked on that.

This week, their proposed changes were thankfully finalized.

Specifically, there are three big takeaways from the new regulations:

Recipients of federally funded aid will be informed of their religious freedom rights. That means telling them they can’t be discriminated against because of their beliefs, do not have to participate in religious activities to receive help, and can file a complaint if their rights are violated. It will also tell them how they can find alternative service providers if needed. The Biden administration said it would even provide "a model notice” for groups to use if they so choose. (Importantly, the faith-based groups will not themselves have to direct the recipients elsewhere; they can just point those people back to the department giving them the aid, and someone over there can direct them in a better direction. This could prevent a possible lawsuit.)

Recipients of federally funded aid will be told they don’t have to “attend or participate in religious activities” to make use of their vouchers. Previously, providers could require people in voucher programs (those receiving “indirect aid&rdquo to participate in religious activities. (People using vouchers, however, won’t be guaranteed secular alternatives.)

Faith-based providers won’t have the opportunity to discriminate against recipients on the basis of their religion. Earlier Trump-era provisions opened the door to potential discrimination by allowing those religious groups to apply for faith-based exemptions to providing certain services to certain kinds of people—and suggesting that various government agencies would have to grant them. 

The administration added that government agencies would be encouraged (but not required) to fund programs that help recipients find service providers that are compatible with their beliefs.

AU President and CEO Rachel Laser celebrated the changes:

“Religious freedom is a foundational American principle. No one should have to give up their religious freedom in order to have access to critical services. No one should ever be pressured to participate in religious activities or be required to meet a religious litmus test in exchange for the help they need.

…

“Americans United has worked tirelessly to restore these protections and address other Trump-administration policies that undermined church-state separation and transformed religious freedom from a shield that protects people into a sword to harm others. We’re pleased that the Biden administration is rolling back many harmful Trump regulations. While there is more work to be done, these are important steps on the path toward a country that promises freedom without favor and equality without exception.”

American Atheists was also pleased with this reversal:

“The Biden administration has taken a vital step towards fulfilling its promise – and this nation’s promise – of equality under the law regardless of one’s religious or nonreligious beliefs,” said Alison Gill, Vice President of Legal and Policy at American Atheists. “I am pleased to see leaders in Washington re-prioritizing Americans in need, and protecting their constitutional rights over the interests of faith-based entities that receive millions of taxpayer dollars every year.” 

…

“We are relieved and grateful the Biden administration has affirmed that religion is not a license to discriminate,” said Nick Fish, President of American Atheists. “Whether they are faith-based or not, any organization that receives taxpayer dollars should never be in the business of discriminating, denying care, or forcing Americans to participate in religious programming in order to access essential services to which they are entitled.” 

FFRF said it is “now reviewing Biden's new regulation” to make sure it addresses their concerns; if it does, “the lawsuit will be dismissed.”

“The Trump administration’s perversion of religious freedom continued till, literally, its last day,” says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. “We’re determined to ensure that individuals not believing in the majority creed know their rights and are empowered to protect themselves against discrimination and marginalization while receiving vital social services.”

…

“These new rules will greatly help improve life further for secular Americans,” says Gaylor. “They are a win for true religious liberty!”

The rule changes will go into effect on April 3.