President Donald Trump's Religious Liberty Commission is preparing to make recommendations after more than a year of hearings. Commissioners have spoken about their wish lists for what they want to see in the report. They reflect the perspectives of the commissioner's largely conservative evangelical and Catholic membership.
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Here's how to dry out your smartphoneDear Readers: Yes, pen pal programs still exist in a digital worldAmy Grant reflects on her new album, resisting labels and writing dark songsPolicía libera a 2 personas tras alarma de rehenes en banco alemán, pero no halla a perpetradoresPresident Donald Trump addresses the White House Religious Liberty Commission during an event at the Museum of the Bible, Sept. 8, 2025, in Washington. Texas Lt. Gov.
Dan Patrick speaks as the lawmakers debate a bill on a redrawn U.S. congressional map during a special session in the Senate Chamber at the Texas Capitol in Austin, Texas, Aug. 22, 2025. President Donald Trump addresses the White House Religious Liberty Commission during an event at the Museum of the Bible, Sept. 8, 2025, in Washington.
President Donald Trump addresses the White House Religious Liberty Commission during an event at the Museum of the Bible, Sept. 8, 2025, in Washington. Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick speaks as the lawmakers debate a bill on a redrawn U.S. congressional map during a special session in the Senate Chamber at the Texas Capitol in Austin, Texas, Aug. 22, 2025.
Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick speaks as the lawmakers debate a bill on a redrawn U.S. congressional map during a special session in the Senate Chamber at the Texas Capitol in Austin, Texas, Aug. 22, 2025. Another calls for court interventions by the Department of Justice on behalf of Amish parents fighting New York vaccine requirements and Catholic nuns challenging that state’s requirement that they accommodate hospice patients’ gender identities.
That report is still in the works, but commissioners had an opportunity to describe their wish lists during their most recent meeting in April. There was little dissent as the commissioners, most drawn fromTheir ideas reflect the prevailing perspectives on the definition of religious liberty among many conservative Catholic and evangelical activists: increasing avenues for religious expression in public schools; expanding opportunities for faith-based organizations to receive public money; and allowing for religious-based exemptions in areas ranging from labor law to classroom lessons to healthcare mandates.
Critics of the commission say it embodies a one-sided perspective of Trump’s supporters and is threatening a well-established constitutional separation of church and state, despite the chair’s claims. A lawsuit by a progressive interreligious coalition argues that commission fails to comply with federal law requiring advisory panels to feature diverse members and viewpoints.are conservative Christian clerics and commentators; one is an Orthodox Jewish rabbi.
The coalition says members have asserted that America is specifically a Judeo-Christian orand notes that most commission meetings took place at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, an institution with Christian leadership. The Republican administration is asking a federal court to dismiss the lawsuit. The government is citing legal technicalities and contending the law does not define how a commission should be fairly balanced or whose viewpoints should be represented.
— issued a report saying Christians faced discrimination under the administration of Democratic President Joe Biden in areas such as education, tax law and prosecution of anti-abortion protesters. Progressive groups said that report failed to document systemic discrimination, focused on causes favored by conservative Christians and amounted to advocacy rather than an investigation.
In a further interlocking of Trump-related initiatives, several members of the Religious Liberty Commission are scheduled to take part in a May 17 prayer event marking the country’s upcoming 250th birthday. Several also participated in a recentCommission Chair Dan Patrick said Prejean Boller sought to “hijack” the hearing, in which she had sharp exchanges with witnesses about the definition of antisemitism and defended commentator Candace Owens, denying her record of antisemitic statements.
Prejean Boller, a Catholic, contended she was wrongly ousted for expressing her beliefs. In other hearings, witnesses described how they defied workplace regulations that they said conflicted with their conservative religious values on gender, abortion, COVID-19 vaccines and more. Some said they were prevented, at least temporarily, from displaying a religious symbol at work or trying to sing a Christian song at a school talent show.
Even so, critics said the commission mostly focused on conservative Christian and right-leaning political grievances. The Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush, president of the progressive Interfaith Alliance, one of the groups suing over the commission’s composition, said the panel’s omissions are as significant as what it focuses on. He said the commission has failed adequately to address such issues as anti-Muslim efforts in Texas and elsewhere, and also the rise of antisemitism on the right, not just the left.
Raushenbush said he is especially worried about the commission chair’s challenging the very notion of church-state separation. Patrick, a Republican who is the Texas lieutenant governor, repeatedly denounced a concept that is embedded in Supreme Court precedent.
“We need to say there is no separation of church and state,” Patrick said at the April meeting. “That’s a lie. ” He suggested printing “a million bumper stickers” to that effect. Trump made similar comments at a prayer event at the White House in 2025.
“They say separation between church and state,” Trump said. “I said, all right, let’s forget about that for one time. ” While the phrase “separation of church and state” does not appear in the Constitution, 20th-century decisions by the Supreme Court cited Thomas Jefferson’s description of the First Amendment as creating “a wall of separation between church and state.
” The court applied the First Amendment’s prohibition of any church “establishment” to the states in addition to the federal government, citing the 14th Amendment’s ban on states denying citizens’ rights. Courts have since wrestled with how to balance freedom of religion and freedom from government-sponsored religion. Patrick has advocated for prayer and Ten Commandments postings in public schools.
“I don’t have any malice towards anyone that doesn’t believe in any type of faith,” Patrick told fellow commissioners. “That’s fine. That’s what America is about. But these organizations that are pushed by some ideology and pushed by someone’s bank account who wants to remove God from our country?
We need to push back. ” On other issues, various commissioners called for requiring schools and workplaces to post notices of the rights of religious expression and exemptions. Some called for restoring full pay and pension benefits for military service members who were discharged for refusing COVID-19 vaccines. Bishop Robert Barron of the Catholic Diocese of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, called for enabling religious groups such as Catholic Charities to receive federal money without compromising on traditional church teachings about the family.
He also said Catholic immigrants in detention should have humane treatment and access to sacraments and that immigration agents should not disrupt worship services in enforcement actions. The administration last year eliminated a policy against immigration enforcement in sanctuaries, which other religious leaders said should not occur at any time.
Kelly Shackelford, president and chief executive officer of the legal organization First Liberty Institute, called for new requirements that governments pay all legal bills if they lose a religious liberty case. He said many individuals lack the money to challenge the government in court.
Church And State Dan Patrick Religion And Politics Christianity Courts General News Domestic News Thomas Jefferson Paul Brandeis Raushenbush Politics Candace Owens U.S. News Antisemitism Carrie Prejean Washington News Supreme Court Of The United States Joe Biden Religion Kelly Shackelford Schools Conservatism Robert Barron Washington News U.S. News
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