On May 1, Trump established the so-called “Religious Liberty Commission.”
The executive order justifies the establishment of such a commission by utilizing the common right-wing argument that religious liberty is under assault. However, the executive order does not give any specific examples of religious figures, groups, or individuals being discriminated against.
In recent years, some Federal, State, and local policies have threatened America’s unique and beautiful tradition of religious liberty. These policies attempt to infringe upon longstanding conscience protections, prevent parents from sending their children to religious schools, threaten loss of funding or denial of non-profit tax status for faith-based entities, and single out religious groups and institutions for exclusion from governmental programs.
The White House
The Commission’s primary objective is to release a report on religious liberty and threats to it, including de-banking, which is not a real phenomenon. The executive order also complains that religious education in public schools and “government displays with religious imagery” are under attack, despite both being illegal under the First Amendment of the Constitution.
On May 16, Trump appointed advisory board members to the Religious Liberty Commission. Christianity, Islam, and Judaism were represented, though other major religions such as Hinduism, Sikhism, and Buddhism were not. Atheists and agnostics were not afforded representation in any capacity.
On June 16, the first meeting of the commission was held. It was hosted in the museum of the Bible (the “m” in “museum” is intentionally lowercase). The explicit preference for Christianity did not end there. Speakers erroneously insisted that the Founding Fathers wanted Christian rulers only (Thomas Paine, among others, challenged organized religion as a whole). Another speaker made an equivalence between religion and public education. Attorney General Pam Bondi made a surprise appearance at the meeting, toting that the Commission “will be the tip of the spear.”
The Trump administration has continued to promote a distorted view of “religious liberty” that actually allows members of select religions to impose their views on the public, while discriminating against minority groups, particularly sexual minorities. On February 6, Trump signed an executive order called, “Eradicating Anti-Christian Bias.” Disturbingly, the order sympathized with “radical-traditionalist” Catholic terrorists.
