Rules Guide Religion In Workplace Clinton, Religious Leaders Hope Guidelines For Federal Employees Will Become Model

Federal civilian workers can keep the Bible or Koran on their desks, wear religious jewelry and gather for religious study during their breaks, say guidelines issued Thursday by President Clinton.

The president announced the 13-page list of do’s and don’ts on religion in the workplace with the backing of a coalition of Christian, Jewish and Muslim groups who hope that it will become a model for religious tolerance for private companies.

“Religious freedom is at the heart of what it means to be an American, and at the heart of our journey to become truly one America,” Clinton said as he unveiled the new rules, saying they should be a “source of harmony and strength” in a nation where religious diversity is increasing.

In practice, the new rules are unlikely to change much for government workers. White House associate counsel William P. Marshall said they go no further than existing legal protections.

Nor have there been widespread reports of problems in the federal work force. Rather, Marshall said that the guide was a response to religious groups who wanted the rights spelled out.

Oliver Thomas, a lawyer for the National Council of Churches, said he expected the federal guidelines to “clarify what was a very confused area of the law.”

He said he expected them to become “the model for knowing how you treat religion at work” for all employers.

Rabbi David Saperstein, director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, said the rules would be “particularly helpful” to minority religions whose practice calls for special diets, special clothing such as Muslim scarves, and time off for religious holidays.

Even the conservative Christian Coalition praised Clinton’s action, although executive director Randy Tate said he was not satisfied yet.

“What most Americans want today is a restoration of religious freedoms that have been taken away over the years by the courts,” he said, calling for a new constitutional amendment on religious freedom.

Clinton’s latest move is one of several that have pleased religious leaders. He won kudos for his support for the 1993 Religious Restoration Act, an effort to enhance religious rights.

However, the U.S. Supreme Court in June struck down most of that statute, after a Roman Catholic church in Boerne, Texas, tried to use the federal law to overrule the city’s historic zoning ordinance. The high court ruled that the law allowed too much federal meddling in state business.

Since the court ruling, Clinton has vowed to find new ways to extend protection for religious activities.

Two years ago, Clinton issued guidelines for religious practice in public schools, and under his administration, the U.S. Justice Department no longer forces churches and other religious institutions to give up past tithes if a member goes into bankruptcy court.

Vice President Al Gore, introducing his boss at the ceremony, went so far as to call Clinton “the best friend religious freedom has ever had in the White House.”

One religious act that the guidelines do not endorse is posting of religious statements in public areas of government buildings - such as the controversial posting of the Ten Commandments by a Gadsden, Ala., circuit judge in his courtroom.

“Where the public has access to the Federal workplace, all Federal employers must be sensitive” to the constitutional ban on “sponsoring, endorsing, or inhibiting religion,” the guidelines state.

The new federal rules apply only to the executive branch, including the U.S. Postal Service, but not to the uniformed military.