President Donald Trump has rewarded his loyal religious-right base with executive orders creating a “Religious Liberty Commission” and a “Task Force to Eliminate Anti-Christian Bias.” Together they will put the force of the federal government behind the conspiracy theories, false persecution claims, and reactionary policy proposals of the Christian nationalist movement, including its efforts to undermine separation of church and state. In announcing the commission, Trump dismissed church-state separation and made the simultaneously ludicrous and messianic claim that he is “bringing religion back to our country.”
The religious right’s weaponization of religious liberty is a years-long campaign that has too often succeeded in turning religious liberty from a shield protecting Americans’ religious freedom into a sword used to attack abortion rights, LGBTQ equality, public education, and church-state separation. While Trump postures as a defender of Christianity, many Christian leaders and millions of American Christians oppose his actions and agenda.
The members of the religious liberty commission announced on May 1 are overwhelmingly conservative Christians, including its chair, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, and vice chair Ben Carson.
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