‘Spreading atheism’: Vance warns religious efforts abroad ‘corrupted’ by US bureaucracy amid USAID controversy

Vice President JD Vance slammed U.S. bureaucracy that has "corrupted" assistance programs to overseas nations amid the Trump administration’s probe into USAID waste, directing his ire astatine a caller revelation that the authorities had funded a programme to beforehand atheism — oregon disbelief successful God oregon gods — successful Nepal. 

"In caller years, excessively often has our nation's planetary engagement connected spiritual liberty issues been corrupted and distorted to the constituent of absurdity," Vance, who is Catholic, said astatine the International Religious Freedom Summit successful Washington, D.C., connected Wednesday. "Think astir it: How did America get to a constituent wherever we're sending hundreds of thousands of payer dollars overseas to NGOs that are dedicated to spreading atheism each implicit the globe? That is not what enactment connected protecting the rights of the faithful looks like." 

Vance did not notation the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) by sanction successful his code to the spiritual assemblage and those moving to advocator for spiritual liberty successful the U.S. and astir the world. 

The forum was held arsenic USAID faces an evident dismantling arsenic Elon Musk and his squad astatine the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) pore implicit the agency’s fiscal records to suss retired authorities overspending and corruption. 

USAID’s website was unopen down successful aboriginal February, replaced with a connection connected Tuesday evening outlining how "direct-hire personnel" volition beryllium placed connected permission Friday, but those connected "mission-critical functions, halfway enactment and specially designated programs."

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Vice President JD Vance slammed U.S. bureaucracy that has "corrupted" assistance programs to overseas nations.  (Getty Images)

Vance’s remark focusing connected nongovernmental organizations utilizing payer funds to beforehand atheism astir the globe is apt referring to a $500,000 grant solicited by the State Department successful 2021, nether the Biden administration. The assistance deed the nation’s radar successful 2024, erstwhile Republican House lawmakers sounded the alarm that the State Department was participating successful a "pattern of obfuscation and denial" related to efforts to beforehand atheism connected the satellite stage. 

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Reps. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, Chris Smith, R-N.J., and Brian Mast, R-Fla., wrote successful a missive sent to then-State Department Deputy Secretary Richard Verma successful May 2024: "We constitute to code what the Department has present acknowledged were its misrepresentations made to Congress astir the scope and quality of programming that – for the archetypal clip successful US diplomatic past – has sought to beforehand atheism overseas nether the guise of ‘religious freedom.'"

"In caller years, excessively often has our nation's planetary engagement connected spiritual liberty issues been corrupted and distorted to the constituent of absurdity," said Vice President JD Vance, who is Catholic.  (Getty Images)

The lawmakers were referring to the State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor assistance for $500,000, titled "Promoting and Defending Religious Freedom Inclusive of Atheist, Humanist, Non-Practicing and Non-Affiliated Individuals." Fox News Digital reviewed an archived web nexus for the assistance connected Thursday, which elaborate that the U.S. was moving to "support Religious Freedom globally," including to "combat discrimination, harassment and abuses against atheist, humanist, non-practicing and non-affiliated individuals of each spiritual communities."

The State Department’s announcement for the assistance reads: "​​DRL’s extremity is to guarantee everyone enjoys spiritual freedom, including the state to dissent from spiritual content and to not signifier oregon adhere to a religion. By not adhering to a predominant spiritual tradition, galore individuals look favoritism successful employment, housing, successful civilian and transgression proceedings, and different areas particularly successful the discourse of intersectional identities." 

The vice president's remark focusing connected nongovernmental organizations utilizing payer funds to beforehand atheism astir the globe is apt referring to a $500,000 grant solicited by the State Department successful 2021.  (Celal Gunes/Anadolu Agency)

The assistance was awarded to Humanists International, a UK-based radical that works to beforehand secularism and humanism, a doctrine that does not see a content successful God. 

The State Department’s backing announcement accidental elaborate however the programme was expected to summation "capacity among members of atheist and heterodox individuals to signifier oregon articulation networks oregon organizations."  

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Fox News Digital reached retired to Humanists International connected Thursday greeting regarding the assistance and Vance's comments but did not instantly person a reply. 

Vice President JD Vance said that the Trump medication volition not lone reconstruct spiritual liberty but grow it.  (Getty Images)

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"But this medication is intent connected not conscionable restoring, but connected expanding the achievements of the archetypal 4 years, and surely successful the past 2 weeks," helium continued. "And successful this abbreviated period, the president has issued orders to extremity the weaponization of the national authorities against spiritual Americans."

Elon Musk is heading up the Department of Government Efficiency.  (Apu Gomes/Getty Images)

"Pardon pro-life protesters who were unjustly imprisoned nether the past administration," helium said. "And importantly, halt the national censorship utilized to forestall Americans from speaking their conscience and speaking their mind, whether it's successful their communities oregon online."

"Now, our medication believes we indispensable basal for spiritual freedom, not conscionable arsenic a ineligible principle, arsenic important arsenic that is, but arsenic a lived world some wrong our ain borders and particularly outside," helium continued. 

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Vance’s code was followed by a virtual code from histrion Rainn Wilson, who played Dwight Schrute successful "The Office," to sermon his Baha’i religion and the persecution of chap adherents successful Iran. 

Democrats person seethed implicit the enactment of Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency, holding protests extracurricular authorities offices successful Washington, D.C., and crossed the country.  (Getty Images)

Government backing directed to left-wing initiatives done agencies specified arsenic USAID oregon the State Department has travel nether the microscope recently, arsenic DOGE launched investigations to chopped authorities fat. Secretary of State Marco Rubio took implicit arsenic acting manager of USAID connected Monday, telling the media that the bureau needs to autumn successful enactment with Trump’s "America First" policies, which includes utilizing payer funds to fortify U.S. communities alternatively than sending currency overseas. 

Democrats person seethed implicit DOGE’s work, holding protests extracurricular authorities offices successful Washington, D.C., and crossed the state to state that they volition combat the efforts bony and nail. 

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 "What we are witnessing present is the biggest heist successful American history," Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., said connected Tuesday during 1 rally. 

People protesting against President Donald Trump and Elon Musk. ( Jeff Kowalsky/AFP/Getty Images )

"This is the astir corrupt bargain we've ever seen successful American history: Elon Musk gives $250 cardinal to elite Donald Trump, and Donald Trump turns implicit the keys to United States authorities to Elon Musk and his billionaire friends and his cronies," Van Hollen continued successful his remarks extracurricular the Treasury Department. 

"We person to combat this successful the courts, we person to combat this successful the Congress, we person to combat this successful the streets. We request to combat this each implicit America." 

Rep. LaMonica McIver, D-N.J., added, "Shut down the city! We are astatine war!" 

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., said during a quality interrogation of DOGE’s enactment astatine USAID, "The level of disrespect really is criminal, due to the fact that determination are crisis-response teams that are astir the satellite that truly trust connected having entree to their emails – having entree to apps that they tin utilize if there’s information to them." 

Protesters person slammed Musk arsenic a "fascist" who was not elected to national bureau yet holds sway with the White House successful his relation astatine DOGE. 

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Musk trolled Democrats and authorities employees amid the protests connected Wednesday erstwhile helium changed his X bio to authorities that helium is moving arsenic "White House Tech Support" arsenic his DOGE squad reviews the national government's assorted machine systems.