Justice Department Updates Guidance to Strengthen Religious-Liberty Protections
The Justice Department issued updated guidance on July 23 directing federal agencies to strengthen protections for religious liberty, including by recognizing that religious exercise can extend beyond belief and worship to conduct in daily life.
The guidance says religious conduct should be reasonably accommodated whenever doing so is practicable and permitted by law. The department said the policy is intended to prevent federal actions from discriminating on the basis of religion.
The guidance applies nationwide to federal agencies, religious organizations and religious practitioners. It gives agencies a common policy direction for handling religious-liberty questions, although the specific effect will depend on how individual agencies implement it.
What the guidance says
The Justice Department’s announcement describes religious exercise as encompassing belief, worship and religious conduct in daily life. That language places everyday conduct within the department’s stated framework for evaluating religious-liberty protections.
It also directs federal agencies to provide reasonable accommodations for religious conduct when those accommodations are practicable and legally permitted. The wording does not mean that every requested accommodation must be granted. Instead, agencies are instructed to consider accommodation within the limits of applicable law and practical circumstances.
The department’s stated objective is to ensure that federal action does not discriminate on the basis of religion. The guidance therefore concerns how agencies interact with people and religious organizations as they carry out federal programs, policies and responsibilities.
The announcement does not establish a judicial ruling or change federal statute. It is an executive-branch guidance document, rather than a constitutional amendment, court order or act of Congress.
Broader federal policy context
The updated Justice Department guidance follows other federal activity focused on religious liberty. The Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service announced plans to provide guidance to religious organizations on religious-liberty and tax-administration issues.
That Treasury and IRS announcement provides policy context for the Justice Department’s action, but the two announcements address different agency responsibilities. The Treasury and IRS effort concerns tax administration, while the Justice Department guidance establishes direction for federal agencies more broadly on religious-liberty protections.
A Religious Liberty Commission also delivered a draft report in June 2026. The report was based on seven hearings and testimony from more than 100 witnesses. Its recommendations included civil-rights enforcement and civic education related to religion.
The commission’s document was a draft report, while the Justice Department’s July announcement was updated agency guidance. Those are separate federal actions and should not be treated as the same type of legal measure.
What happens next
Federal agencies will determine how the guidance is applied in their own operations. Its practical effect will depend on agency implementation and on any future litigation over the scope of religious accommodations or the interaction between religious conduct and other legal requirements.
The July 23 announcement does not identify a single comprehensive list of regulations or programs that will change. Instead, it sets out principles for federal agencies to use when considering religious exercise, daily conduct and reasonable accommodation.
For religious organizations and practitioners, the immediate development is a government-wide statement that their religious exercise may include conduct outside formal worship. For agencies, the guidance emphasizes that religious-liberty considerations should be part of decisions involving federal action, subject to what is practicable and permitted by law.
Sources
- Acting Attorney General Blanche Issues Updated Guidance to Strengthen Federal Religious Liberty Protections, U.S. Department of Justice
- Treasury and IRS to Provide Guidance to Religious Organizations, U.S. Department of the Treasury
- President Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission Delivers Historic Report Draft, U.S. Department of Justice
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