Trump Promises to Bring Prayer Back to Public Schools

Donald Trump stood in the Museum of the Bible on Monday morning and told a crowd he's bringing prayer back to public schools, though students have always had the right to pray individually.

The president announced new Department of Education guidance during his Religious Liberty Commission's second hearing, themed "Religious Liberty in Public Education." What this guidance actually entails remains unclear - Trump didn't provide specifics beyond promising to "protect the Judeo-Christian values of our founding."

"To have a great nation, you have to have religion – I believe that so strongly," Trump said to the commission crowd. "There has to be something after we go through all of this, and that something is God."

His nearly hour-long speech wandered through various grievances and initiatives. He claimed students are "indoctrinated with antireligious propaganda" in schools, promised to use the National Guard to fight crime in DC, and complained about "wokeness" at the Smithsonian, claiming they're "making changes" after being "told what to do by people that came before me."

The actual legal landscape hasn't changed - students have always been allowed to pray individually in public schools. The Supreme Court settled this decades ago. What's prohibited is school-sponsored prayer or religious instruction, which violates the separation of church and state.

Chris Line from the Freedom From Religion Foundation called Trump's statements "a lot of theater without a lot of substance." He said Trump conflates religious neutrality with discrimination against Christians and that the commission is "more about advancing religious privilege" than protecting religious freedom broadly.

The event felt more like a revival than a government hearing. Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who chairs the commission, declared "We are primarily a Christian nation, but this committee represents all faiths." The commission includes Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish members, but no Muslims or members of other minority religions serve on the main panel.

This is the same Dan Patrick who threatened to eject people from the Texas State Senate if they didn't stand for a Christian prayer in August, but boycotted a Muslim prayer in 2007. So much for representing all faiths.

Trump also attacked Senator Tim Kaine for questioning Secretary of State Marco Rubio's comments about God-given rights during a recent hearing. Kaine had said the notion that rights come from the Creator rather than laws is "troubling" and compared it to Iranian government rhetoric. Trump called Kaine "ineffectual" and "ashamed of himself."

Three young people testified about facing "censorship" for their Christian beliefs in schools. One described being told she couldn't wear a "Jesus Loves Me" mask. Alliance Defending Freedom sued on her behalf, and the district settled. "God can use even something as small as this mask to help ensure our amazing country remains free," she said.

Americans United for Separation of Church and State President Rachel Laser said the hearing was "more like a church service" promoting the "lie that America is a Christian nation and that religion is under attack." Her organization sent the commission a letter outlining what they see as actual threats to religious freedom - mainly Christian Nationalists trying to impose their values on everyone else.

Several states now require public schools to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms. That's actual government-mandated religious content, not the imaginary persecution Trump's commission is addressing.

Cardinal Timothy Dolan praised Trump for taking religious freedom "seriously and realistically recognizes that it's under threat today." He referenced the "biblical virtue of patriotism" - a phrase that doesn't appear anywhere in the Bible but sounds appropriately nationalist for the occasion.

At the commission's first hearing, Attorney General Pam Bondi claimed religious liberty has "come under attack" under Biden's administration. Several people walked out during her speech. Interfaith Alliance's Guthrie Graves-Fitzsimmons said the meeting had "very little diversity of thought."

Trump ended his Museum of the Bible speech declaring America has "always been a nation that believes in the power of prayer" and promising to "defend our liberties, our values, our sovereignty, and we will defend our freedom." He walked out to "Amazing Grace."

The irony of holding a government religious commission meeting at a museum dedicated to one specific religious text while claiming to represent all faiths apparently escaped everyone involved.

Patrick claimed Trump's White House Faith Office is "the first faith office ever established by a president." This is flatly false. Biden, Obama, and George W. Bush all had faith offices. Bush established his within days of taking office in 2001.

The commission's next hearing on "Religious Liberty in Education" happens September 29th. Expect more theatrical complaints about persecution while actual church-state separation continues eroding in classrooms nationwide.

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