Government Executive: Trump administration reminds federal employees they can proselytize in the office
By JW August
FROM THE TRENCHES
It is now permissible for supervisors “in federal offices to post invitations to employees to join his church” on an agency bulletin board. ”
Also allowed is recruitment of others to a religion, all outlined in a five page memorandum released July 28th by Director Scott Kupor of Trump’s Office of Personnel Management (OPM).
Eric Katz, “Senior Correspondent” for the “Government Executive” website reports that OPM is telling federal employees “they can proselytize in the office” adding that supervisors “can solicit employees to attend their church.” OPM describes it as a new guidance.
I was alerted to this by “S”, my confidential sources working in the Trump Administration. I can’t seem to keep up with all that is happening in D.C., so “S” gives me a heads up when something particularly egregious occurs.
Our conversations centered about what appears to be repudiation of what is a widely used interpretation of the First Amendment’s protections. The Supreme Court has ruled the Amendment ratified in 1868 that both the state and federal government “make no law respecting an establishment of religion.”
OPM said its “new guidance is necessary to ensure federal employees are not discriminated against for their religious beliefs or practices.”
OPM Director Scott Kupor adds “This guidance ensures the federal workplace is not just compliant with the law but welcoming to Americans of all faiths.”
As a journalist I am curious if this is also part of a further effort by the administration to rework other elements of the First Amendment.
https://www.govexec.com/workforce/2025/07/trump-administration-reminds-federal-employees-they-can-proselytize-office/407032/
“There is more to this than just allowing this recruiting of converts in federal offices” “S” tells me. He/she believes it is also used to target other religious practices of federal employees other than white evangelicals adding “I seriously doubt if they will allow Muslims to bring their prayer rugs to work and pray” the five times a day while facing Mecca, or recruit for Islam.
The OPM’s list of do’s and don’t’s are located here.
Here is the wording from one section under ‘Conversations Between Federal Employees’
” Employees may engage in conversations regarding religious topics with fellow employees, including attempting to persuade others of the correctness of their own religious views, provided that such efforts are not harassing in nature.”
There are more examples in the five page “memorandum” from Kupor
The Supreme Court is in lockstep with the administration leading our nation’s heinous march towards Christian Nationalism. It was bad enough reading that In-N-Out employees at one SD location were praying with customers in the drive-thru line. Now this!?!?
this country’s founders were clear that mixing statehood with religion is bad medicine.
They knew the inherent dangers of mixing religion and politics. The Pilgrims left England to escape religious persecution. What will our “Pilgrims” of today do? There is
no Plymouth Rock to a new world anymore.
Did the notice actually use the word proselytize – which is pejorative – or did this biased concern for free speech involving religion invent it. What happened to I don’t agree but will defend to the death your right to say it.
My apologies, the link posted for this story takes you nowhere.
If you are interested in the memorandum that is the subject of the story you will find it here:
https://www.chcoc.gov/content/protecting-religious-expression-federal-workplace
again, my apologies…jw