By: Jeremy Dys, Deputy General Counsel for First Liberty Institute
Two public appearances by senior members of the Trump Administration last month show the Administration’s fundamental commitment to religious liberty. And it’s more than just words.
In a Christian Broadcasting Network News interview that fell on the heels of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s visit to a cathedral in Egypt, a reporter asked the nation’s top ambassador, “Why is religious freedom so important to the Trump Administration?”
It is a fair, if rarely asked, question that cuts to the very center of the core values that make up our nation: Religious liberty. From his answer, it is clear that Secretary Pompeo understands the important place that religious liberty holds in a nation’s commitment to freedom:
Because it’s at the heart of all the freedoms that every individual should have, right? Every human being has the dignity that comes with their life and religious freedom is a central element to that. For individuals to be able to worship in the way they want or if they choose not to worship, so be it.
As the Trump Administration works to define its foreign policy, it appears the State Department is committed to expanding freedom based upon the liberty “at the heart of all the freedoms.”