Be vocal about how such policies are an affront to you, specifically as a person of faith, and if applicable, how such policies harm your faith community. Identify yourself visibly as a person of faith. Too often, bad actors try to use religion as a cover for bad policies. Do not allow anyone the opportunity to suggest that opposing harmful policies is anti-religious or immoral.

Whatever actions you pursue, make sure everyone knows about them! Reach out to members of the press, elected officials, your own communities, and the general public to share your concerns. Make clear that people of faith and conscience believe in governance that takes care of its people. Echo the voices of the prophets as you call out the travesty of robbing schools, healthcare, and other basic resources to line the pockets of billionaires. Read my example of speaking out from my position as a person of faith and a former official at the Department of Education. 

Join local groups that are organizing. If you aren’t already part of a local organizing effort, there are many local faith groups like the affiliates and networks of Interfaith Alliance, Poor People’s Campaign, Faith in Action, and Faith in Public Life. There may be other local interfaith groups in your community who are mobilizing at this moment. Now is the time to seek them out.

You can also team up with a secular group like Indivisible or MoveOn, or a secular issue-specific organization – public education supporters like the National Education Association, American Federation of Teachers, a local PTA, or the National Parents Union. If you join a secular group’s organizing efforts, let the lead organizers know you’d like to help with organizing faith voices using the kinds of strategies listed in #1 above.

Together, you can consider creative strategies to stop the dismantling of government services. Some of these organizing strategies include:

1. Direct actions like rallies, public vigils, walkouts, and more. Think about how to use sacred symbols and rituals in new ways to bring your community’s usual ministries to bear on the issue at hand, organize faith-based youth groups, showcase a children’s choir – get creative!

EXAMPLE: Philly clergy build an altar outside of ICE headquarters, demanding return of church protection from immigration arrests

2. Litigation against unlawful government action: You can serve as a plaintiff in cases taken up by groups like Democracy Forward or the American Civil Liberties Union.

EXAMPLE: Judge Blocks ICE Enforcement In Houses of Worship – Democracy Forward

3. Advocacy with Members of Congress: Request meetings with their staff to demand that they hold the executive branch accountable and that they find creative ways of doing so.

EXAMPLE: Faith in the Halls of Power: The Transformative Power of Speaking Up (Evangelical Immigration Table)

4. Work with state and local officials: Wherever possible, reach out to elected officials from governors to state legislators to school board members, and ask them to resist the harmful effects of federal policies and practices. The elimination of federal funds will mean state and local governments will be left with massive budget gaps. They will need your support organizing to get those resources back.

EXAMPLE: Alabama Lawmakers push Ten Commandments mandate, faith leaders push back 

5. Hold corporations accountable: Don’t let corporations preemptively fall in line with an authoritarian regime or seek to benefit from it. Engage in boycotts to show your opposition or buy-ins to show support, show up to shareholder meetings, and speak out.

EXAMPLE: Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR) Investors File 60 Proposals Calling for Transparency Around Corporate Political Activity

People will look to faith leaders to be the voices of moral courage during difficult times. As you are able, be outspoken in your calls for truth, for compassion, and for justice. 

People will also look to you as sources of resilience when they choose to do the right thing. Publicly thank elected officials and other leaders who stand up for what is right, even if you disagree with them on other issues. Every action in support of our democracy takes courage and has great value. And for those leaders engaged in organizing alongside you, provide extra encouragement and support, knowing they may be targeted for their actions. Make sure all who stand up for justice know they do not do so alone.

Public servants across the federal government have faced harassment, illegal lawsuits, and a range of attacks from the Trump administration and from outside actors. To learn more about what civil servants can do to defend themselves, subscribe to Protect Democracy’s “Dear Civil Servant” newsletter and check out the resources they have already published.