(RNS) — In an Aug. 8 letter, the Secular Coalition for America and 18 allied organizations urged the U.S. Office of Personnel Management to rescind its new guidelines for religious expression in government workplaces.
The groups, which advocate for Americans with no religious affiliation, expressed “alarm” about a July 28 memorandum from OPM Director Scott Kupor offering guidance that it claimed would aid federal agencies in “robustly protecting and enforcing each Federal employee’s right to engage in religious expression in the Federal workplace consistent with the U.S. Constitution” and other laws.
But according to the secular groups’ letter, the memorandum “is rife with policies that support coercion and proselytizing” and could encourage criticism of employees’ religious beliefs and permit supervisors to pressure subordinates to convert.
Signatories of the letter included American Atheists, American Humanist Association, Center for Inquiry/Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science, Freedom From Religion Foundation Action Fund, Ex-Muslims of North America, and Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers.
The secular organizations cited particular concern about the OPM memorandum’s guidance on permitted conversations between federal employees. “Employees may engage in conversations regarding religious topics with fellow employees, including attempting to persuade others of the correctness of their own religious views, provided that such efforts are not harassing …