{"id":2676,"date":"2026-02-15T20:29:19","date_gmt":"2026-02-15T20:29:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/?p=2676"},"modified":"2026-02-15T20:29:19","modified_gmt":"2026-02-15T20:29:19","slug":"trump-has-chipped-away-at-the-long-standing-wall-between-church-and-state-its-just-the-beginning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/?p=2676","title":{"rendered":"Trump has chipped away at the long-standing wall between church and state. It\u2019s just the beginning"},"content":{"rendered":"

At first glance, the December meeting of a little-known government panel looked like ordinary bureaucratic business.<\/p>\n

But then, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau\u2019s advisory board opened its proceedings in an unusual way: with a Christian prayer.<\/p>\n

The benediction was delivered by a White House official. \u201cThank you for your son, Jesus, who died for our sins,\u201d the official said at one point, according to two sources who attended the meeting.<\/p>\n

Under President Donald Trump, moments like this, rare in recent administrations, are becoming commonplace. A series of faith initiatives championed by the White House have led to a systematic religious revival within the government\u2019s operations, culture and policy.<\/p>\n

Americans have been encouraged to\u00a0pray for an hour each week. Some government agencies have opened their meetings with prayer or hosted regular faith services.\u00a0Bible verses\u00a0and Christian imagery now appear on\u00a0official government\u00a0social\u00a0media accounts.<\/p>\n

The changes \u2014 predominately Christian in character \u2014 have been welcomed by conservative organizations that have fought for decades against an increasingly secular government, while alarming longtime defenders of a separation between church and state.<\/p>\n

Both supporters and critics alike say this religious turn has little modern precedent \u2014 and it may be just the beginning.<\/p>\n

Since last year, interfaith leaders, religious legal activists and close political allies of the president have been laying the groundwork for a broader expansion of the role of religion in public life.<\/p>\n

By this summer, the group \u2014 Trump\u2019s Religious Liberty Commission \u2014 is expected to produce a blueprint for policy changes that could redefine the boundaries between government and religion in American life.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to bring back religion in America,\u201d Trump told the commission last year. \u201cBring it back stronger than ever before.\u201d<\/p>\n

Discussions by the commission on how to fulfil Trump\u2019s mandate have included aggressively pursuing legal action against state and local governments accused of blocking religious expression and withholding federal funding for K-12 schools viewed as hostile to faith. The latter mirrors pressure Trump has applied to colleges accused of failing to protect Jewish students from discrimination.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\"President<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>
President Donald Trump bows his head in prayer during the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, DC, on February 5. – Saul Loeb\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

They have also considered ways to encourage the Supreme Court to revisit decades-old precedent governing the First Amendment\u2019s establishment clause, which prohibits the US government from establishing a state religion or favoring one religion over others.<\/p>\n

Though the commission has representatives from various faiths, and Jewish and Muslim communities are involved, its strongest threads skew toward conservative views within Christianity.<\/p>\n

Some participants \u2014 including Trump \u2014 have lamented the Bible\u2019s diminished presence in schools.<\/p>\n

One member, television psychologist Phil McGraw, known as \u201cDr. Phil\u201d has framed the commission\u2019s work in starker terms.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are in a religious and cultural war right now, and every single one of us is a combatant,\u201d said McGraw, a close Trump friend, during a September meeting. \u201cNobody can afford to sit on the sidelines.\u201d<\/p>\n

A new environment<\/h3>\n

Past presidents have overseen periods of religious revival in government, such as when Dwight Eisenhower signed provisions adding \u201cunder God\u201d to the Pledge of Allegiance and \u201cIn God We Trust\u201d to paper currency.<\/p>\n

But Randall Balmer, a professor of American religious history at Dartmouth College, said he cannot recall any administration that has pursued such a broad and deliberate effort to inject religion into government and daily life.<\/p>\n

Balmer said he finds it troubling for a political majority to \u201cdictate to everyone else how they behave and even how they believe.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a statement to CNN, White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers contended that former President Joe Biden \u201cweaponized the full weight of the federal government against people of faith.\u201d She said Trump\u2019s efforts would \u201csafeguard religious freedom and eliminate the anti-religious bias that was embedded in the federal government.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Religious Liberty Commission is a significant step in that effort. Trump established the panel last year to identify \u201cthreats\u201d to religious liberty across faiths. It is led by Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and includes former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson, longtime Trump faith adviser Paula White, and orthodox rabbi and writer Meir Soloveichik, among others.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\"President<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>
President Donald Trump bows his head in prayer with pastor Paula White, left, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Attorney General Pam Bondi at the Museum of the Bible on September 8, 2025. Trump addressed the White House Religious Liberties Commission during the event. – Win McNamee\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Commission meetings have featured Americans of different faiths testifying that government institutions infringed on their religious practices, including challenges faced by Muslims, Jews, Sikhs and Hindus.<\/p>\n

Supporters hope the commission\u2019s changes will result in lasting impacts that can\u2019t be easily undone by future administrations.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had just gotten into a bad habit\u201d of using the First Amendment to \u201cstamp out all religious expressions in the public sphere,\u201d said Mark Rienzi, president of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, a law firm that specializes in litigating faith causes.<\/p>\n

Critics counter that the administration\u2019s actions go beyond protecting constitutionally protected speech and risk endorsing religion. Brian Kaylor, a Baptist minister and author of books on religious communication, said the administration appears to be emphasizing Christianity above all others.<\/p>\n

He noted that two Labor Department interfaith services that took place last year included biblical readings and songs, but not from other religions, for example.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m greatly concerned about uniting church and state because it\u2019s never gone well for the church,\u201d he said. \u201cIt turns faith into just a political tool and ultimately drives people away.\u201d<\/p>\n

Commission members have routinely described the US as a Christian nation. In its first meeting, Patrick, the commission chair, asserted that the country\u2019s founders \u201cbased a government built on the Bible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some have spoken more explicitly about the role they believe Christianity should play in American civic life.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou cannot have America, you cannot have a self-governing nation, without a robust expression of Christian faith among its citizenry,\u201d said commission member Eric Metaxas, a conservative author and podcaster. \u201cThat is not possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fissures emerge<\/h3>\n

Until last week, the commission\u2019s meetings attracted little public attention. But on Monday, a hearing on antisemitism grew heated after one commissioner, former beauty pageant contestant Carrie Prejean Boller, challenged Jewish speakers about their beliefs and Israel\u2019s war against Hamas.<\/p>\n

Boller\u2019s remarks quickly drew condemnation online, and Patrick announced her dismissal on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo member of the commission has the right to hijack a hearing for their personal and political agenda on any issue,\u201d Patrick wrote on X.<\/p>\n

The next day, Boller said she stood by her remarks and asserted only Trump had the authority to remove her. She vowed to show up at the March hearing and said the attempt to remove her \u201ccontradicts the mission\u201d of the commission to protect religious liberty, \u201cincluding that of devout Catholics like myself who reject Zionism.\u201d<\/p>\n

The White House did not respond to questions from CNN about Boller\u2019s status on the commission, but a person familiar with the matter confirmed she was officially given a termination notice.<\/p>\n

Recommendations from the commission, which is housed in the Department of Justice, are not binding, and it\u2019s likely that some proposals would require approval from Congress. Still, its influence already seems to be visible.<\/p>\n

Earlier this month, the Department of Education warned schools they could lose funding if they have policies that block students, teachers and staff from praying, according to new guidance issued by the agency and obtained by CNN.<\/p>\n

A nearly identical approach to punishing schools was proposed during the commission\u2019s September hearing.<\/p>\n

In December, the commission debated how to reinfuse faith into the US military. Some members suggested expanding authority for chaplains and the return of prayer.<\/p>\n

A week later, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth held a Christmas worship service and announced plans to \u201crestore the esteemed chaplains as moral anchors of our fighting force.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kelly Shackelford, a commission member, told CNN he believes the group\u2019s discussions are driving change.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are finding problems in every area \u2014 in schools, in universities, in government agencies, in the private sector, in health care, in the military and more,\u201d said Shackelford, president of the First Liberty Institute, a legal group focused on religious cases.<\/p>\n

The commission and its work echo broader changes between faith and the federal government that the Trump administration is putting into place. Besides the commission, the administration has reshaped faith-based offices at agencies, which traditionally worked to link up with religious charities. Under Trump, they are now tasked with emphasizing the free exercise of religion, including introducing monthly prayer meetings in some agencies.<\/p>\n

In July, the White House personnel office issued new guidance encouraging federal workers to talk about faith and display religious symbols at work. The memo also allows doctors at Veteran Affairs hospitals to pray with or over patients. Separately, the Internal Revenue Service has said it will not enforce a decades-old provision barring houses of worship from endorsing political candidates as a condition of maintaining their tax-exempt status.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\"President<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>
President Donald Trump holds up an executive order on the “Establishment of the Religious Liberty Commission” while faith leaders react during a National Day of Prayer event in the Rose Garden of the White House on May 1, 2025. – Mandel Ngan\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Some federal workers told CNN they are increasingly uneasy with the infusion of faith already appearing in their work. The employees who attended the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau meeting noted the opening prayer was listed as part of the meeting agenda, making participation feel compulsory. One of the employees said they found the Christian messaging out of place in a government setting. \u201cPrayer is part of my life, nevertheless I felt extremely uncomfortable,\u201d the person said. They asked not to be named for fear of reprisal.<\/p>\n

Opponents are clear-eyed about what may be coming.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are in the early stages,\u201d said Rachel Laser, president and CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, \u201cbut this is a policy-making effort.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even some who support the commission\u2019s work say they hope its final report does not privilege one faith over others.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe report needs to be one that addresses protecting religious freedom of all faiths,\u201d said Kim Colby, a lawyer for the Center for Law and Religious Freedom at the Christian Legal Society.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven most conservative Christians recognize that if there\u2019s one faith that doesn\u2019t have protection, then in reality no faiths have protections.\u201d<\/p>\n

Legal shifts and the future<\/h3>\n

As Trump\u2019s faith initiatives are taking hold, the legal ground on religion in government is shifting.<\/p>\n

Over the past decade, the Supreme Court, led by the conservative majority, has\u00a0made it easier for religious groups\u00a0to seek government grants and faith-based schools to receive public funding. It has signaled support for more public expressions of faith, such as by\u00a0siding with a high school football coach\u00a0fired for praying on the field with players and\u00a0by blocking the removal of a large cross\u00a0in a Maryland veterans memorial park.<\/p>\n

Along the way, the court has moved away from long-standing tests used to determine whether government acts violate the First Amendment\u2019s Establishment Clause (that \u201cCongress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion\u201d), placing greater emphasis on accommodating religious causes.<\/p>\n

At a meeting last year well before her dismissal, Boller took stock of the court\u2019s evolution and declared: \u201cNow is the time that we have more rights as Christians than we\u2019ve ever had.\u201d<\/p>\n

Against this backdrop, commission meetings have regularly turned to how the Trump administration should take advantage of this new landscape.<\/p>\n

Nicole Garnett, a Notre Dame law professor, testified in September that the Trump administration should \u201ctake immediate action\u201d against existing state and federal laws that run afoul of the Supreme Court\u2019s new standards.<\/p>\n

Others want to push further.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo put it bluntly, I think it\u2019s time to kick in the rotten door that\u2019s barring religion from the public square,\u201d said Gerard Bradley, the co-director of the conservative legal training organization James Wilson Institute.<\/p>\n

Bradley asserted that the Supreme Court has effectively \u201cprepared the way\u201d for the government to promote religion as a \u201ccommon good.\u201d<\/p>\n

That framing alarms critics.<\/p>\n

Kaylor, the Baptist minister and scholar, warned: \u201cSuch state establishment of religion is a threat to democratic ideals, a pluralistic workforce and nation, and the sanctity of Christian worship.\u201d<\/p>\n

CNN\u2019s Donald Judd contributed to this report.<\/p>\n

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at\u00a0CNN.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At first glance, the December meeting of a little-known government panel looked like ordinary bureaucratic business. But then,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":2677,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,4,48],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2676","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-politics","category-us"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2676","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2676"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2676\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2678,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2676\/revisions\/2678"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2677"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2676"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2676"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2676"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}