The Trump administration on Thursday directed federal agencies to give greater consideration to religious liberty when writing regulations, enforcing federal law and accommodating employees' religious beliefs, marking the first major update to Department of Justice (DOJ) guidance on the issue since 2017.The updated guidance instructs executive agencies to ensure their policies comply with the First Amendment, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and recent Supreme Court decisions that have expanded protections for religious exercise.The DOJ, led by Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, said the guidance reflects nearly a decade of new Supreme Court precedent and is intended to ensure federal agencies protect religious Americans in areas including employment, federal contracting, grants, rulemaking and enforcement actions.DOJ ALLEGES 'SYSTEMATIC CULTURE' OF ANTI-CHRISTIAN BIAS ACROSS FEDERAL AGENCIES UNDER BIDENThe updated guidance instructs executive agencies to ensure their policies comply with the First Amendment, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and recent Supreme Court decisions.(Li Rui/Xinhua via Getty Images, File)Among the changes, the department said agencies should consider religious-liberty concerns earlier when developing regulations, accommodate religious expression in the federal workplace when required by law, and ensure religious organizations can compete for federal grants and contracts on equal footing with secular organizations.The guidance also reaffirms constitutional protections for churches to govern their own internal affairs and highlights recent Supreme Court rulings recognizing parents' rights to direct the religious upbringing of their children."The updated guidance will ensure that the federal government will respect the religious liberty rights of all Americans when implementing the President's policies," Kelly Shackelford, president, CEO and chief counsel of Fi...