Biden’s battle against Christians, now documented

On April 30, the Department of Justice (DOJ) released a comprehensive interagency report detailing widespread anti-Christian bias throughout the federal government during the Biden administration. The report, compiled by the Task Force to Eradicate Anti-Christian Bias, outlines numerous instances in which officials leveraged their authority in ways that disadvantaged and discriminated against Christians.

According to the report, “The Biden Administration’s policies regularly clashed with a Christian worldview and burdened religious practices.” Although “privately held” Christian convictions were “generally tolerated,” Biden officials “zealously pursued actions to limit Christians’ ability to act in accordance with their faith,” particularly on matters related to “life, family, marriage, and self-identity.”

In its “key findings” section, the report states that Christian convictions on abortion and gender ideology were among those most frequently penalized. For example, it notes how the Biden DOJ pursued aggressive prosecutions against nonviolent, pro-life Christian demonstrators under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, while responding less forcefully to violent attacks against pregnancy resource centers. According to the report, the DOJ sought an average sentence of 26.8 months for pro-life defendants, compared to 12.3 months for defendants who favored legal abortion.

The report also describes the close relationship between the DOJ and abortion advocacy groups, including Planned Parenthood. On several occasions, at the DOJ’s request, pro-abortion groups compiled and submitted dossiers on pro-life advocates, which were subsequently used to support federal prosecutions. The same groups also alerted the DOJ’s Civil Rights division to pro-life events, rallies, and even social media activity, enabling officials to “search for chargeable offenses.”

Concerns about bias extended beyond the DOJ to federal law enforcement more broadly. At the FBI, the report highlights a field office memo suggesting that “traditional Catholic” communities could be associated with violent extremism. The memo, the report notes, relied in part on allegations from outside organizations, including the Southern Poverty Law Center.

At the IRS, the report provides examples of how Biden administration officials selectively enforced the Johnson Amendment against conservative churches and nonprofit organizations that engaged in political activities. By contrast, the report notes that more than 1,600 faith leaders publicly supported Joe Biden in the lead-up to the 2020 election, yet no comparable IRS investigations were initiated against those churches during the Biden years.

The Department of Education is likewise cited for what the report describes as disproportionate enforcement actions against Christian institutions. Grand Canyon University was fined $37.7 million over tuition reporting practices, despite findings from federal courts and Arizona regulators that raised questions about the allegations. Then-Secretary Miguel Cardona reportedly stated that he wanted to “shut them down.” Liberty University, meanwhile, was fined $14 million under federal campus safety reporting requirements. The report contrasts these penalties with significantly smaller fines imposed on other universities in cases involving serious misconduct, including sexual abuse scandals at Pennsylvania State University ($2.4 million) and Michigan State University ($4.5 million).

In the area of sexuality and gender, the report points to several federal policies that disadvantaged Christians. One notable example is a Biden-era HHS rule that prevented foster children from being placed with Christian families or agencies that did not affirm the administration’s views on sexual orientation and gender identity. According to the report, these policies contributed to discrimination by state licensing agencies against Christian couples.

The report also highlights a 2022 Executive Order addressing so-called “conversion therapy,” which was used to discourage and restrict counseling aligned with traditional Christian beliefs about gender identity. Notably, the report shows that the State Department even developed an action plan to promote this policy internationally.

Finally, the report further documents adverse actions affecting Christians within the federal workforce. It argues that promised case-by-case evaluations of religious exemption requests to the vaccine mandate during the COVID-19 pandemic were largely illusory, with most requests denied. As a result, some federal employees were reportedly demoted, reassigned, or deemed ineligible for promotion due to their religious objections.

In total, the task force’s report spans nearly 200 pages and is accompanied by over 300 pages of supporting exhibits. While many of the concerns outlined in the report have been raised individually over the past several years, the significance of the document lies in its scope. It brings together several examples across a variety of departments and agencies that, taken together, demonstrate a clear and consistent pattern of anti-Christian bias.

As the United States approaches its 250th anniversary, the task force’s findings serve as a sobering reminder that freedom requires constant vigilance. For four years, the federal government did not merely disagree with certain religious convictions, but used its authority to disadvantage and, in some cases, punish Americans whose faith conflicted with its preferred policy positions. Thankfully, the current administration has promised accountability and a reversal of these policies. Nonetheless, Christians would be wise to remember these hard lessons and remain mindful of how government power can be used—and abused.