WASHINGTON (BP) — A task force commissioned by the Trump administration earlier this year has issued a preliminary report containing examples where Christians’ “political, social, and humanitarian contributions (were) devalued, their beliefs marginalized, and their communities unlawfully targeted” by the White House’s previous occupants. 

The “consistent and systemic pattern of discrimination against Christians during the Biden Administration” was outlined in a report dated June 6, but only recently released. The president announced the formation of the task force at this year’s National Prayer Breakfast.

“If we don’t have religious liberty, then we don’t have a free country. We probably don’t even have a country,” he told attendees on the same day he signed the executive order on eradicating anti-Christian bias.

“This report has brought to light what those of us who worked diligently behind the scenes to oppose the progressive policies of the prior administration knew to be true,” said Miles Mullin, acting president for the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC). “The Biden administration repeatedly discriminated against individuals and organizations who ran afoul of its aggressive agenda on matters related to sexual orientation, gender identity and abortion.”

The report marks only the beginning of the overall inquiry, it clarified. The investigation will continue toward a detailed report and recommendations by February. A final report will follow.

“Numerous instances of anti-Christian bias” occurred through the federal government during the Biden administration, the preliminary review said.

The examples include that of Paul Vaughn and five others who were convicted of violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act when they prayed, sang hymns and read Scripture outside of a Mt. Juliet, Tenn., abortion clinic in March 2021. The group was among 23 abortion protestors pardoned by Trump in January. Other examples include replacing the Office of Faith-Based Initiatives with a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) office and those fired from or harassed at their job for their Christian beliefs, both in the public and private sectors. The Department of Veterans Affairs alone said it has received approximately 1,500 responses and reviewed 500 of them alleging anti-Christian bias.

After the initial meeting held on April 22, Attorney General Pam Bondi asked agencies to submit reports that would describe additional evidence of anti-Christian actions in their agency. They were also asked to identify remedial actions underway and future areas of action. Those findings will be submitted and reviewed at another Task Force meeting later this year.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has begun addressing anti-Christian bias not only within its own agency but also in state and local governments, the report stated, “by using the DOJ’s unique investigatory and litigation authority.” The DOJ reached out to the ERLC for assistance in gathering its information.

“The Task Force makes this commitment: the federal government will never again be permitted to turn its power against people of faith,” the report said. “Faith is not a liability in America – it is a liberty.”

“People of faith should not be clandestinely forced to fund abortion or choose between maintaining their biblical convictions regarding marriage, sexuality and gender or being able to serve as foster parents,” said Mullin. “Not only do such policies mean that preborn children die and children in need are denied a home, they also trample on the religious liberty rights of millions of Americans.

“So we are grateful for this report and that the current administration’s Department of Justice reached out to our D.C. team to give input for this report. But even more so, we are deeply grateful that many of the discriminatory actions of the previous administration have been reversed in order to restore the rights of people of faith in America.”

(EDITOR’S NOTE — Scott Barkley is chief national correspondent for Baptist Press.)