Dear Friend,
Speaking from the White House Rose Garden at a National Day of Prayer event on Thursday, the President of the United States said: “They say, ‘separation between church and state…’ I said, ‘All right, let’s forget about that for one time…’”
Only one time, eh? Surely nothing for American Atheists to worry about! Except, the President also signed an executive order Thursday to create a “presidential commission on religious liberty,” promising his administration will bring “religion back to our country.”
A series of communications released by the White House this week shows a dramatic escalation in Christian Nationalist rhetoric from government channels. No longer are we seeing a tacit acceptance of the ideology but an official application of it that is quite obviously designed to appease the Supreme Court’s new “history and tradition” test by revising our nation’s uniquely secular legacy. And we’re seeing a resurgence of McCarthy-esque “godless communist” anti-atheism in the administration’s promises to root out “all anti-religious policies, practices, and conduct.”
The presidential proclamation recognizing the National Day of Prayer reads: “We recognize that the true strength of the American spirit has always been found in churches, chapels, pews, parishes and synagogues, and the hearts and souls of our citizens of faith.” “Across every chapter of our grand American story,” the official narrative goes, it’s been about “America’s longstanding legacy of prayer, faith, and trust in God.”
Again and again, this administration attempts to rewrite our nation’s history, reinterpret our laws, reshape our government, and even revise our collective understanding of reality. Speaking on Thursday, Pastor Paula White, head of the White House Faith Office, said, “Prayer is not a religious act. It’s a national necessity,” while Trump claimed, “People of faith have never been allowed in the White House.”
That’s all fixed now, says White. During the first 100 days of the Trump Administration, more than 1,000 religious leaders have purportedly visited the White House, “and they’re not here for ceremony but they’re here for collaboration, creating, and crafting policy…”
Trump’s “commission on religious liberty,” a who’s who of Christian Nationalists, prosperity gospel grifters, and anti-LGBTQ, anti-woman, anti-secularism bigots, will be chaired by Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, whom Trump described as both “a man of great religion” and an “amazing politician.” The official announcement calls the bible “the most important book ever written” and highlights Patrick’s success placing “In God We Trust” in the Texas Senate and adding “Under God” to the state’s Pledge of Allegiance.
Ben Carson, who was appointed Vice Chair, is touted as having outlined “what needs to be done” in his recent book. I’ll spare you reading it: Carson claims the United States’ future prosperity depends on our “return to the biblical values our nation was founded upon.”
The other commissioners are: Ryan T. Anderson, who’s best-known for his opposition to abortion and LGBTQ+ rights, including same-sex marriage; Allyson Ho, an anti-abortion lawyer with suspect ties; Eric Metaxes, an anti-vaxxer who authored two pro-Trump children’s books; Bishop Robert Barron, who said Americans’ rights are “given not by government or popular consensus but by [God]”; former Miss California USA, Carrie Prejean Boller; the archbishop of New York, Cardinal Timothy Dolan; Kelly Shackelford of the Christian Nationalist advocacy group First Liberty Institute; Pastor Franklin Graham; Dr. Phil; Pastor Paula White; and Rabbi Meir Soloveichik.
These, the White House says, are the “diverse perspectives,” “the high caliber, the foremost faith leaders, scholars, thinkers” that will tell us lay people everything we need to know about religious pluralism. That the president’s “Religious Liberty Commission” includes just one non-Christian sends a pretty clear signal this is an administration unconcerned with representing all Americans.
To really hammer that point home, the specific topics this commission has been directed to examine include: the First Amendment rights of pastors, religious leaders, houses of worship, faith-based institutions and religious speakers; conscience protections in the health care field and concerning vaccine mandates; parental rights in religious education, school choice, and permitting time for voluntary prayer and religious instruction at public schools; government displays with religious imagery; and so on. Further, an accompanying “fact sheet” claims: “The previous administration’s Department of Justice targeted peaceful Christians while ignoring violent, anti-Christian offenses.”
To be crystal clear: This is a hit list targeting American Atheists’ advocacy priorities over the past 20 years. This week’s order and the members of this commission are seeking nothing less than undoing the decades of progress this organization and our members have fought so hard to achieve.
This commission is united in one thing: cementing religious privilege for conservative Christians at the expense of everyone else. Their version of “religious freedom” starts and ends at the people who look like them, believe like them, and worship like them. And it certainly doesn’t include us.
In solidarity,
Melina Cohen
Director of Strategic Communications & Policy Engagement
PS: The good news is the overwhelming majority of Americans reject this divisive and exclusionary use of religion. If you agree that supporting grassroots atheist organizing is the best way for us to show the American people what real freedom looks like, please support our work with a tax-deductible gift of $250, $100, or $50 today.
American Atheists is a 501(c)(3) non-partisan, nonprofit educational organization that relies on the support of members like you. Contributions are tax-deductible. Our Federal Tax ID Number is 74-2466507 and our Combined Federal Campaign number is 52217.
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