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Understanding the Trump Administration’s Religious Liberty Initiatives

by Jorge Gomez • 5 minutes

At the National Prayer Breakfast, President Trump announced the creation of a religious liberty task force, a religious liberty commission and the establishment of the White House Faith Office.

“We are thrilled that President Trump recognizes that religious liberty is foundational to all of our Constitutional freedoms and plans to do all he can do to protect our first freedom,” said First Liberty President, CEO & Chief Counsel Kelly Shackelford. “All Americans should be free to exercise their faith without government intrusion in school, in the military, in the workplace, and in the public square. We are ready to stand with President Trump to ensure that the religious liberty of every American is safe and secure.”

These initiatives are being formalized through the following executive orders:

An Executive Order: Eradicating Anti-Christian Bias (Feb. 6).

The order establishes a Task Force to Eradicate Anti-Christian Bias that will be chaired by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and include cabinet members, high-level government officials and leaders of other executive agencies. In other words, the top leaders in the country will be involved in the protection of religious freedom.

“My Administration will not tolerate anti-Christian weaponization of government or unlawful conduct targeting Christians,” the order states, citing a marked in increase in anti-religious government, hostility and vandalism against churches and places of worship.

“The law protects the freedom of Americans and groups of Americans to practice their faith in peace, and my Administration will enforce the law and protect these freedoms,” the order continues. “My Administration will ensure that any unlawful and improper conduct, policies, or practices that target Christians are identified, terminated and rectified.”

The Task Force will be responsible for identifying laws, regulations and policies that have contributed to unlawful government discrimination toward religious Americans. The Task Force  will also submit a series of reports to the President on steps and actions taken to remedy religious discrimination.

An Executive Order: Establishment of The White House Faith Office (Feb. 7). The order gives the Faith Office the lead responsibility in the Executive Branch to empower faith-based entities, community organizations and houses of worship to serve families and communities. It also directs agencies that lack a Faith Director or Liaison to appoint one.

The President appointed Pastor Paula White-Cain as a Special Government Employee and Senior Advisor of the White House Faith Office and Jenny Korn as a Deputy Assistant to the President and Faith Director of the White House Faith Office.

The Faith Office is tasked with:

• Consulting with experts within the faith community and make recommendations to the President regarding changes to policies, programs, and practices to better align with the American values.
• Coordinating with agencies on religious liberty training and on identifying and promoting grant opportunities for non-profit faith-based entities, community organizations, and houses of worship.
• Collaborating with the Attorney General to identify failures to enforce constitutional and Federal statutory protections for religious liberty.

Additional Actions that Impact Religious Liberty and People of Faith

Since Inauguration Day, the administration has implemented a multitude of policy changes on issues that religious Americans find important.

In his first week, President Trump pardoned Christians and pro-life activists who were persecuted by the weaponized Biden administration for praying and peacefully living out their faith. The President has signed executive orders to:

• Protect school choice, supporting parents’ rights to direct the upbringing and education of their children and to choose private, faith-based or public charter schools.
• Reinstate service members forced out of the military over the COVID-19 vaccine mandate, including service members discharged over their religious objections to the vaccine.
• Combat antisemitism, particularly on campus.
• Combat “radical indoctrination” in schools.
• Protect children from “chemical and surgical mutilation.”
• Prioritize military excellence and readiness by reversing the Biden-era policies that allowed military personnel with gender dysphoria to serve.

Additionally, agencies have already started taking concrete steps to ensure religious freedom is protected.

For example, the Department of Justice:

• Launched the Weaponization Working Group to investigate and eradicate the weaponization of the federal government.
• Limited enforcement of the federal FACE Act, which had been weaponized against religious, pro-life advocates, and dismissed multiple FACE Act cases.
• Launched a Task Force to combat antisemitism.
• Taken pro-religious liberty positions in U.S. Supreme Court cases
• Reversed the Biden administration’s position in the U.S. Supreme Court case of United States v. Skrmetti, stating that the United States does not believe that state laws banning gender transition drugs and procedures for minors violate the Equal Protection Clause.

The Department of Health and Human Services Office of Civil Rights opened investigations into educational institutions where antisemitic incidents were allowed to occur. This follows the President’s executive order signed on January 29 that outlined measures to combat antisemitism.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development halted enforcement of the HUD Gender Identity Rule, a provision that conflicted with millions of Americans’ religious beliefs on gender and human sexuality.

“We, at this agency, are carrying out the mission laid out by President Trump on January 20th when he signed an executive order to restore biological truth to the federal government,” said HUD Secretary Scott Turner. “This means recognizing there are only two sexes: male and female. It means getting government out of the way of what the Lord established from the beginning when he created man in His own image.”

The Department of Education issued a letter enforcing Trump’s executive order to keep men out of women’s sports.

First Liberty will continue to monitor the administration’s actions and inform Americans on federal policies that impact their religious freedom.

Related Articles:

Newsweek: Opinion | Trump’s Executive Orders Secured Our Most Fundamental Freedoms

Pres. Trump Signs Several Executive Orders That Will Benefit Religious Freedom

‘NEVER AGAIN’ – Trump Promises to Stop Religious Persecution in America

Attorney General Nominee Pam Bondi Will Be a Strong Protector of Religious Freedom

Attorney General Nominee Vows to Stop Weaponization of Justice Departmen