Religious liberty in the United States of America has always been an integral part of American life. The Founding Fathers made a commitment to religious freedom as part of the First Amendment’s religion clauses, which prevent the government from establishing a national religion or prohibiting the free exercise of religion by individuals.
On day one of his second term, President Donald Trump stated America needs God and religion. He followed through on that proclamation by establishing the White House Faith Office, a Task Force on Anti-Christian Bias, and naming the Religious Liberty Commission. The group works to identify opportunities to promote religious freedom throughout America.
In launching the Religious Liberty Commission, President Trump made clear through an executive order that not only is religious liberty enshrined in America’s Constitution, but it also needs to be enforced and protected.
White House Faith Director Jenny Korn explains part of the commission’s mandate. “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.”
Korn adds that members will also focus on how religious freedoms have been attacked, citing the case of former high school football coach Joe Kennedy, fired from his job for praying on the field after games.
“In case after case, talking about what has happened in this country and how our religious freedoms are really at stake,” says Korn. “When Coach Kennedy has to go all the way to the Supreme Court for kneeling on a football field to pray, we have a problem with religious freedom. And that’s only one example.”
She adds, “And so the Religious Liberty Commission is people who are so educated on what religion actually is, and they’re going to make sure that policies that affect people of faith know exactly what religious freedom means.”
The objectives of the commission include:
- Exploring America’s foundation of religious liberty;
- Identifying its impact on society and current threats to this right;
- Developing strategies to preserve and enhance religious freedom for future generations.
The commission is made up of 13 members with diverse religious and professional backgrounds. Leaders include Chairman Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, Vice-Chair Dr. Ben Carson, and Dr. Alveda King, the niece of Martin Luther King Jr.