A group of multifaith organizations sued President Donald Trump’s administration on Feb. 9 over what theycontend is an illegal lack of religious and ideological diversity on the Department of Justice’s Religious Liberty Commission.
Interfaith Alliance and its president and CEO, the Rev. Paul Raushenbush, along with Muslims for Progressive Values, the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund and Hindus for Human Rights are named as plaintiffs in the lawsuit, which was filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
The organizations are asking the court, among other requests, to find the commission violates the Federal Advisory Committee Act, a law that requires such groups to be "fairly balanced in terms of the points of view represented."
The Religious Liberty Commission includes Protestant, Catholic and Jewish people, but no Muslims or members of other minority religious groups. Its members broadly "espouse the view that America is a 'Judeo-Christian' nation with limited, if any restrictions, on infusing their religious values into government," the lawsuit said.
"This does not reflect the diversity of American religion and does not appear to be interested in truly standing up for religious freedom for all Americans," Raushenbush told USA TODAY.
