Bearing Witness
Bearing Witness offers important new resources for faith leaders and faith communities to help you responsibly support those called by their faith and moral courage to speak out about government wrongdoing and abuses of power they witness in the workplace. Your validation and support of the brave role that truth-tellers—whistleblowers—play in upholding democracy by reporting serious misconduct is powerful and essential, as is wise counsel. Bearing Witness is a movement dedicated to fostering a cultural change that values and supports the truth-tellers among us. Bearing Witness is here to help.
Many who witness immoral, unethical and illegal acts in government-associated workplaces will turn to clergy who, bound by strict legal and moral confidentiality, serve as important confidants. These situations are complex, and clergy need to be empowered and prepared to responsibly offer support to individuals seeking guidance about whether and how to report wrongdoing. Likewise, whistleblowers need their faith communities’ understanding and support for the essential role they play as catalysts of accountability and justice.
Launched by the leading whistleblower protection organization, the nonprofit, nonpartisan Government Accountability Project as part of its Democracy Protection Initiative, Bearing Witness offers free and reliable resources to clergy, faith leaders and faith communities so they can provide responsible support and connect potential whistleblowers with experts. The call to bear witness is nonpartisan, multifaith, and essential to a just world.
What Faith Leaders Need to Know
Working with whistleblowers is complex. Security and safety, vetting and legal support, staying private versus going public, psychological, emotional and spiritual health and more need taken into careful account. Bearing Witness offers free and reliable resources to clergy, faith leaders and faith communities so they can responsibly support those who witness immoral, unethical and illegal acts in government-associated workplaces and connect potential whistleblowers with experts.
Bearing Witness Spiritual Allies
A growing list of diverse faith-based organizations are endorsing Bearing Witness to send a powerful message of support to truth-tellers driven by faith. These organizations and individuals are united in support of those who listen to their conscience, and lean into their faith, to find the moral courage to speak up in protection of our nation’s values and democratic processes.
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Rev. Dr. John C.
Dorhauer
General Minister & President
United Church of Christ
Rev. Traci D. Blackmon
Associate General Minister
Justice & Local Church Ministries
United Church of Christ
Rabbi Jonah
Dov Pesner
Director, Religious Action Center
Senior Vice President,
Union for Reform Judaism
(For identification purposes only)
Mike McCurry
Former White House
Press Secretary, 1995-1998
(For identification purposes only)
Sr. Simone Campbell
Executive Director
NETWORK
Rev. Adam Phillips
Executive Director
Faith 2020
Rev. Adam
Russell Taylor
President
Sojourners
Imam Abdullah T.
Antepli
Professor of Interfaith Relations
Rev. Jen Butler
Chief Executive Officer
Faith in Public Life
Stosh Cotler
Chief Executive Officer
Bend the Arc
Rev. Ryan M. Eller
Founder & Executive Director
New Moral Majority
Rev. Dr. Katharine
R. Henderson
President
Auburn Seminary
Lisa Sharon Harper
Founder & President
Freedom Road LLC
Satjeet Kaur
Executive Director
The Sikh Coalition
Rev. Doug Pagitt
Co-Founder & Executive Director
Vote Common Good
Patrick Carolan
Director of Catholic Outreach
Vote Common Good
Steve Schneck
Executive Director
Franciscan Action Network
Rev. Cameron Trimble
Founder & CEO
Convergence US
Johnny Zokovitch
Executive Director
Pax Christi USA
Rabbi Jack Bemporad
Executive Director
Center for Interreligious
Understanding
Rev. angel Kyoda
williams, Sensei
Wajahat Ali
Author & Columnist
Rabbi Jack Moline
Bishop Gene
Robinson
Basharat Saleem
Executive Director
Islamic Society of North America
We Help Truth-Tellers Bear Witness
As the leading whistleblower organization in the world for over 40 years, the nonpartisan and nonprofit Government Accountability Project, founded by ordained Methodist minister Louis Clark, has been on the forefront of increasing legal protections for whistleblowers across the U.S. and abroad. We stand ready to protect our nation’s democracy by providing pro bono counsel to support whistleblowers in exercising their rights to blow the whistle on serious abuses of public trust and to ensure their disclosures make a difference.
Proven Representation
We have represented more than 8,000 whistleblowers and expanded whistleblower protections domestically and internationally.
Know Your Rights
Since the whistleblower legal landscape is complicated, you should understand your rights, risks, and options before disclosing information to government investigators, Congress, and the public.
Profound Impact
For over forty years, we have helped numerous high-profile clients serve the public good through the power of information, providing whistleblowers with expert legal and advocacy support to protect them while promoting accountability and reform.
Informational Guides
We have created many guides to help federal workers, journalists, public interest organizations, and election workers so that prospective whistleblowers can take the first step in navigating the complex path of whistleblowing safely and effectively.
