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SUNDAY REVELATIONS: Atheists Sue President Trump Over His ‘Religious Liberty’ Executive Order

SEE YOU IN COURT!

The government would favor religious nonprofits over nonreligious ones, a lawsuit by the Freedom From Religion Foundation claims — just look at Trump’s campaign rhetoric.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation filed suit Thursday in federal court against Trump and the Internal Revenue Service, claiming the order is unconstitutional because it makes government favor religion over nonreligion.  Although the executive order applies to all nonprofits, FFRF believes it will be selectively enforced so as to only benefit churches/

“We will not allow people of faith to be targeted, bullied, or silenced anymore,” Trump said while announcing the order on Thursday. “And we will never, ever stand for religious discrimination, never ever.” FFRF calls that and the order a “message to Christians, and particularly evangelicals” that the government will no longer bar them from endorsing candidates, donating to campaigns, or otherwise engaging in politics.  Andrew Seidel, staff attorney at the FFRF, told The Daily Beast the order’s language is vague enough to benefit religious organizations at the expense of non-religious groups. “It’s very poorly worded. Trump and the White House have made it very clear that they intend for this order to ease restrictions on churches, especially on Evangelical churches,” Seidel said.

 Meanwhile, the lawsuit claims secular nonprofits will still be prohibited from endorsing candidates or otherwise participating in the upcoming 2018 elections if they want to keep their tax-exempt status. Those groups are classified as 501(c)(3).  “FFRF, for its part, would be seriously harmed by enforcement of the electioneering restrictions if it violated § 501(c)(3), including by loss of tax-exempt status, which harm to FFRF would be devastating and irreparable,” the suit reads.

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