The U.S. Department of Justice on Thursday released a report titled “Eradicating Anti-Christian Bias Within the Federal Government,” prepared by the Trump administration’s Task Force examining alleged bias against Christians.
According to the report, one of its central conclusions is that the Biden administration applied unequal legal consequences to Christian organizations and pro-life activists compared to secular or liberal groups.
The document highlights enforcement patterns under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, which allows federal charges against individuals who “intentionally injures, intimidates, or interferes with or attempts to injure, intimidate or interfere with any person” involved in providing abortion services.
The report notes that the FACE Act also extends protections to religious institutions and pro-life pregnancy centers, not just abortion providers, when they are targeted.
Citing sentencing data, the report stated, “The Biden DOJ requested an average sentence of 26.8 months for pro-life defendants, compared to 12.3 months for pro-choice defendants,” adding, “Pro-life defendants were ultimately sentenced to an average of 14 months, while pro-abortion defendants were sentenced to an average of 3 months.”
The report further alleges selective enforcement of the Johnson Amendment, which restricts political activity by nonprofit organizations, including churches.
It cites examples such as New Way Church in Florida, which was investigated after hosting a school board candidate, and Grace Church in St. Louis, which faced scrutiny for outlining “positions local candidates held” as part of voter education efforts.
By contrast, the report states there were “no public indications” that the Biden administration launched investigations into more than 1,600 faith leaders who publicly supported former President Joe Biden during the 2020 election.
The report also references findings from the American Principles Project, which indicate that 59 of 87 enforcement actions taken by the U.S. Department of Education targeted “faith-based or career education schools,” accounting for roughly 70% of all actions despite such schools serving only about 10% of students.
Financial penalties are another area highlighted, with the report stating that Christian schools faced significantly higher fines on average compared to secular institutions.
According to the findings, the average fine imposed on a Christian school was $815,000, compared to $228,571 for public and private secular schools.
Among the most prominent cases cited is a $37.7 million fine against Grand Canyon University over alleged deceptive advertising, despite a federal appeals court ruling that found no evidence of wrongdoing. The report also notes a $14 million fine imposed on Liberty University related to alleged violations of federal transparency requirements concerning “public safety issues.”
The report additionally examines outreach efforts by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, stating that between March 2023 and January 2024, the agency met with numerous religious groups but only a small number of explicitly Christian organizations.
Specifically, the agency reportedly engaged with 20 Muslim groups, 18 Jewish groups, one Sikh organization, and 20 interfaith organizations, while just two of the groups were identified as explicitly Christian.
“This disparity is notable given that Christians comprise an estimated 62 percent of the U.S. population,” the report states. It also cites DHS employee testimony alleging that “Within the workplace, employees were directed to avoid explicit reference to Christian celebrations like Christmas, while similar directives were not provided in cases of holidays celebrated by other religions.”
The report also points to additional concerns, including the denial of Small Business Administration disaster loans to nearly 170 Christian organizations based on their faith and the allocation of less than half of Federal Emergency Management Agency funding for religious nonprofits to Christian groups.
Todd Blanche, who chairs the Task Force to Eradicate Anti-Christian Bias, emphasized the broader implications of the findings.
“No American should live in fear that the federal government will punish them for their faith,” he said.
He added, “As our report lays out, the Biden Administration’s actions devastated the lives of many Christian Americans. That devastation ended with President Trump. The Department of Justice will continue to expose bad actors who targeted Christians and work tirelessly to restore religious liberty for all Americans of faith.”
