Multi-faith groups have filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration’s Religious Liberty Commission, alleging that it violates the First Amendment. The groups, the Interfaith Alliance, Muslims for Progressive Values, the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund, and Hindus for Human Rights, claim that the Commission’s organization of Christians and one Orthodox Jewish rabbi excludes those involved in Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism.
The lawsuit says that it “held its first three meetings at the Museum of the Bible and has closed its meetings with a Christian prayer ‘in Jesus’ name.’ Only one of its members is not Christian and the Christian members do not represent the full diversity of the Christian faith,” the lawsuit states. “The Commission’s meetings have repeatedly referenced the belief that the United States was founded as a ‘Judeo-Christian nation’ and the membership reflects that viewpoint. All members of the Commission advocate for increased religiosity, and specifically their brand of ‘Judeo-Christian’ religiosity, in public life.”
“The Commission’s members have promoted the primacy of a Judeo-Christian worldview in the public sphere, advocated for discrimination against minority groups under the guise of ‘religious liberty,’ and otherwise supported policies that threaten religious freedom for all those who do not conform to their particular worldview,” the filing further argues.
The multi-faith groups urge the court to issue an order that the Commission violates the law by “failing to ensure that the Commission’s membership is fairly balanced.”
President Trump created the Religious Liberty Commission last year, tasking it with “producing a comprehensive report on the foundations of religious liberty in America, strategies to increase awareness of and celebrate America’s peaceful religious pluralism, current threats to religious liberty, and strategies to preserve and enhance protections for future generations,” a fact sheet on the matter described.
