Last year, the Department of Justice announced the formation of a "religious liberty task force." To most, a task force dedicated to ensuring the free exercise of religionmust have sounded like a good thing. But having spent 25 years as an attorney for DOJ, I recognize a Trojan horse when I see one. I knew what the department's seedling held in its belly.
In the lead-up to the formal creation of the religious liberty task force, DOJ was working hard to maintain President Donald Trump's evangelical base. In September 2017, the Justice Department backed a Colorado baker's claim that religious freedom allowed him to violate an anti-discrimination law that prohibited him from rejecting same-sex couples as customers of his wedding cake business.
The next month, DOJ published its "Principles of Religious Liberty." These rules guide all federal prosecutions and declare that "except in the narrowest circumstances," the Justice Department will side with a claim of religious liberty — even if it conflicts with laws prohibiting discrimination or securing the separation of church and state.
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