WASHINGTON, D.C. – President Trump held the first meeting of his new Religious Liberty Commission at the Museum of the Bible on Monday. His first initiative is protecting prayer in public schools, focusing more broadly on the issue of religious freedom for students.
“We have to bring back religion in America, bring it back stronger than ever before,” the President said while opening the event in front of a packed audience representing different faiths.
He said his administration wants to advance religious liberty, and that as America’s 250th anniversary approaches, the nation must remember the significant role faith played from the beginning.
“America was founded on faith, as we know, and I’ve been saying it for a long time — when faith gets weaker, our country seems to get weaker,” Trump said.
The President pointed out that his administration has expanded school choice, protected parental rights, and announced that he will soon give the Department of Education guidelines for bringing prayer back to schools.
“For most of our country’s history, the Bible was found in every classroom in the nation. Yet in many schools today, students are instead indoctrinated with anti-religious propaganda, and some are punished for their religious beliefs — very, very strongly punished. It’s ridiculous,” he said.
Trump also invited 12-year-old Sheay Encinas from California to speak about his school forcing him to read a book promoting transgender ideology, which conflicts with his Christian faith.
“Last year, in fifth grade, Shay was forced to read a book to a Kindergarten student promoting a message of radical gender ideology that is contrary to his religious beliefs and ours,” Trump explained.
Then Shay addressed the crowd, too. “I believe kids like me should be able to live our faith at school without being forced to go against what we believe,” he said. “I hope no other family has to go through what mine did.”
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While the President is receiving widespread support from his base, critics argue that this policy, his comments, and the Religious Liberty Commission only advance a so-called “Christian nationalist” agenda.
Jenny Korn, Director of the White House Faith Office, counters that charge by pointing to the commission’s members.
“It’s all people of faith. So we have Jewish, we have imams, we’ve got Christian, we’ve got Catholic. We want to make sure that everybody understands that faith means people of all faiths, from every background, because that is what this country was founded on: the freedom of faith. And so we are representing people of all faiths,” she said.
President Trump vows to keep his commitment to protect religious liberty for people of all faiths, stating that for America to be a great nation, it must always be one nation under God.
