5 key findings from DOJ report on anti-Christian bias under Biden

Task force found 'consistent and systematic pattern of discrimination'

By Jon Brown, Christian Post Reporter Thursday, September 11, 2025

COVID-19 vaccine mandates, denial of pastoral care to service members

The section of the report about the U.S. Department of Defense, recently renamed the U.S. Department of War, cited U.S. Navy SEALs 1-26 v. Biden, a significant religious liberty case regarding religious exemptions to the Biden administration's COVID-19 vaccine mandate for service members.

In 2024, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ultimately approved a settlement for the group of Navy SEALs from various Christian denominations who faced blanket denials for religious accommodations to the mandate, despite collectively boasting more than 350 years of service and more than 100 combat deployments.

According to Pentagon estimates, approximately 8,600 service members were dismissed for refusing the COVID-19 shot. During a recent interview, Navy Commander Rob Greene said he believes as many as 90,000 people left the U.S. military because of the mandate, including early retirements and enlistments not renewed.

Also highlighted in the report was when Walter Reed National Military Medical Center issued a "cease and desist" letter to a group of Franciscan Catholic priests during Holy Week in 2023.

Despite offering pastoral care to service members and veterans for almost 20 years, the priests had their contract with the center terminated in favor of a secular, for-profit defense contractor, which the report said left Catholics there with inadequate spiritual care in the lead-up to Easter.

Regarding future actions, the DOD acknowledged that its information is incomplete and that "the agency would need to do a prevalence survey in order to determine the full extent of anti-Christian bias under its jurisdiction."

"The DOD is committed to continuing efforts to eradicate anti-Christian bias and ensure equal treatment for all service members," the department added.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the U.S. Department of Labor were also accused of "deprioritizing, mishandling, or denying requests for religious exemptions" regarding COVID-19 vaccine mandates.