New Trump task force vows to root out ‘anti-Christian bias’

Donald Trump speaks during the Faith and Freedom Coalition Policy Conference in Washington on June 24, 2023. (Jose Luis Magana / AP Photo)

WASHINGTON — U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi hosted the opening meeting of an “anti-Christian bias” task force Tuesday, as the government pressed federal workers to inform on work colleagues engaging in discriminatory behaviour.

Although the United States has the world’s largest Christian population, President Donald Trump -- who counts evangelicals among his most fervent supporters -- deemed it necessary to sign an Executive Order creating the task force to counter “persecution” of the faithful.

Despite a criminal conviction for hush money payments in a porn star scandal, two divorces and a string of sexual assault allegations, Trump has long made himself a champion of right-wing Christians.

His cabinet contains several members with links to Christian nationalists, including Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.

In memos seen by AFP, government employees have been told to provide examples of anti-Christian bias they have witnessed at work -- providing dates and locations as well as the names of those involved.

An email sent out Tuesday by Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins asked staff to inform the department of any “informal policies, procedures or unofficial understandings hostile to Christian views.”

A similar message sent to State Department staff earlier this month caused alarm among officials that the move could create a culture of fear, according to Politico.

Bondi said her task force would work with faith-based organizations and state-level bureaucracies to identify and “fix” abuses by the federal government.

Christians are the dominant religious majority in America -- roughly two-thirds of the country identifies as a member of the faith -- and they enjoy more political influence than any other group.

The evidence of anti-Christian bias in the FBI’s crime statistics is threadbare, with attacks on churches dwarfed by the figures for synagogues, where incidents have been soaring.

The Washington-based liberal Interfaith Alliance lobby group has condemned Trump’s focus on anti-Christian bias, arguing that the task force would aid organizations looking to circumvent anti-discrimination laws.

“There is no evidence of widespread anti-Christian bias in the United States and perpetuating this myth is deeply offensive to the actual Christian persecution that happens in other countries around the world,” it said in a statement after Trump created the task force.