US State Department: Report "anti-Christian bias"

The US State Department is encouraging its employees to anonymously report "anti-Christian bias" from colleagues. According to an internal memo obtained by the US magazine "Politico", the ministry led by Marco Rubio (photo above) will cooperate with the working group set up to collect this information. There will be corresponding reporting forms for this purpose.

The order is based on a decree signed by US President Donald Trump shortly after he took office. At the "National Prayer Breakfast" at the beginning of February, he explained that a separate task force in the Department of Justice had the task of "eradicating anti-Christian bias" in government structures and "prosecuting anti-Christian violence and vandalism in our society". According to Trump, this is particularly about protecting the religious freedom of Christians.

As detailed as possible

The memo from the State Department was not only sent to employees, but to all US embassies worldwide, reports Politico. It states that the messages should be as detailed as possible and include the name, date and location of the statement. According to the magazine, numerous State Department employees reacted with shock to the instruction. Observers expect that other ministries or government departments could soon follow suit.

Shortly after the decree was signed, the Interfaith Alliance, a left-wing organisation for the protection of religious freedom, sharply criticised the underlying decree. The group criticised the fact that it only appeared to be about protecting the religious freedom of Christians. In reality, it is intended to create an extremely limited understanding of religious freedom and use the term "as a weapon to legitimise discrimination against marginalised groups such as the LGBTQ community." (mal)