Concerning The Department Of States
The letter below, available at LINK was sent this date.
September 10, 2025
Re: Concerning the Department of State’s Promotion of Religion
Dear Chairs and Ranking Members:
On behalf of The Steady State, a nonpartisan network of over 330 former national security professionals, I write to express grave concern over recent official communications from the Department of State that explicitly frame U.S. foreign policy in terms of advancing or protecting a single religion.
On September 5, 2025 the U.S. Department of State posted on its official Twitter account the following statement:
Our nation was founded on the recognition that moral virtue and a steadfast faith in God are necessary preconditions of freedom. Yet under the Biden Administration, U.S. foreign policy belittled Christianity and weaponized government against faith. That era has ended. Under @POTUS’s leadership, the State Department will eradicate practices that devalue and demean the Christian faith.[1]
The U.S. Constitution is unambiguous on matters of religion in government:
● “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof” (First Amendment);
● “…no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States” (Article VI).
By declaring that U.S. foreign policy will “eradicate practices that devalue and demean the Christian faith,” the Department risks breaching these constitutional principles, undermining decades of bipartisan policy that has defended religious liberty. This unprecedented language is deeply disturbing, echoing a similar policy embodied in the penal code of Iran:
Anyone who insults Islamic sanctities or any of the Imams or Her Excellency Fatemeh [Tahereh] should be sentenced to death if the insult is determined to be disparaging [the] Prophet Muhammad; otherwise, the offender shall receive one to five years’ imprisonment.[2]
As former practitioners of diplomacy, defense, and intelligence, we have witnessed how religion has been weaponized by authoritarian regimes and extremist movements. Religious favoritism risks endangering our diplomats, our troops, and our alliances, while eroding America’s credibility as a defender of freedom worldwide, and is fundamentally at odds with our nation’s most deeply held values. Worse still, our members have seen such policies put in place by repressive regimes and would-be autocrats, efforts that incite civil discord and strife. The Founders were well aware of the dangers posed by incitement of religious division, and for that reason were careful to keep the government out of the business of “defending” any particular religion.
We respectfully request that your Committees exercise their oversight authority to:
1. Seek clarification from the Department of State regarding the intent and scope of these statements;
2. Reaffirm that U.S. foreign policy must uphold constitutional neutrality on matters of religion; and
3. Ensure that America’s global advocacy for religious freedom remains inclusive and nonpartisan.
The United States is strongest when it defends liberty impartially and leads by the power of example. We urge you to examine the recent Department of State statement and to reaffirm that U.S. foreign policy remains neutral on matters of religion. Thank you for your attention to this critical matter.
Respectfully,
Steven A. Cash
Executive Director
The Steady State
Distribution:
The Honorable James E. Risch, Chair
The Honorable Jeanne Shaheen, Ranking Member
Senate Committee on Foreign Relations
U.S. Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510
The Honorable Brian Mast, Chair
The Honorable Gregory Meeks, Ranking Member
House Committee on Foreign Affairs
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515
The Honorable Chuck Grassley, Chair
The Honorable Dick Durbin, Ranking Member
Senate Committee on the Judiciary
U.S. Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510
The Honorable Jim Jordan, Chair
The Honorable Jamie Raskin, Ranking Member
House Judiciary Committee
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515
The Honorable James Comer, Chair
The Honorable Robert Garcia, Ranking Member
House Committee on Oversight and Accountability
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515
[1] U.S. Department of State, X (@StateDept), “Our nation was founded on the recognition that moral virtue and a steadfast faith in God are necessary preconditions of freedom. Yet under the Biden Administration, U.S. foreign policy belittled Christianity and weaponized government against faith….” X (Sep. 5, 2025, 12:52 PM), https://x.com/StateDept/status/1964008819475743179.
[2] Islamic Penal Code of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Book Five, Article 513 (1996) (unofficial English translation)