Is Religious Freedom Making a Comeback in American Life?
If President Trump has anything to say about it – the answer is a resounding YES!
He’s been anything but subtle. This year’s Easter at the White House was a far cry from last year’s debacle. The Bidens shut out religious sentiment and expression, while the Trump’s embrace of the Easter spirit was almost shocking – in the best possible way.
President Trump, flanked by our First Lady on his right and a large bunny on the left – made a bold Easter proclamation:
We are honoring Jesus Christ, and we’re going to honor Jesus Christ very powerfully …not just now, all throughout our lives…Religion is coming back to America.
Over 42,000 Americans joined the fun as the President and First Lady colored with the kids and presided over the egg roll. Leftist complaints were ignored when they demanded the President not use real eggs (because of the formerly high prices), and the traditional festivities had an air of joyous freedom about them.
The event starkly contrasted the strange way “Easter” was commemorated at the Biden White House just one year ago. He declared it “Transgender Visibility Day.” Biden’s proclamation on Christianity’s most holy day was this:
“Today, we send a message to all transgender Americans: You are loved. You are heard. You are understood. You belong. You are America, and my entire Administration and I have your back. NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim March 31, 2024, as Transgender Day of Visibility.”
Sure, the Bidens had the Easter Egg Roll on the White House grounds that weekend. However, they banned any “religious” symbolism on eggs or anywhere on the premises. If anyone had a problem with “visibility” during the Biden years – it was Bible-believing Christians.
“Under both President Barack Obama and Joe Biden – so, for 12 of the last 16 years – the U.S. government consistently and aggressively prioritized advancing LGBTQ ideology and other progressive social issues ahead of religious freedom. The results have been disastrous,” wrote Dr. Kevin Roberts and William Wolfe for The Daily Signal.1
Clearly, it’s a new day. Thank God!
The trajectory changed the day President Trump was sworn in.
In the events surrounding and including the inauguration ceremony, heartfelt, enthusiastic, and faith-filled prayers were given center stage as Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Rev. Franklin Graham, Rabbi Ari Berman, Pastor Lorenzo Sewell, and Rev. Frank Mann all sought God’s blessing for the new President and administration. The day before, an outdoor Let Us Worship event was planned for downtown DC. That same evening, at a massive pre-inauguration rally, the Girls Gone Bible podcast team was given the stage to open that event with a seven-minute prayer.
Months before, prayer initiatives, worship gatherings, vigils, and fasts were underway worldwide leading up to November and election day. They came from various organizations, denominations, churches, and small groups, each praying for protection for the candidates, God’s blessing on our nation, and His Will to be accomplished. Many prayed for safe and fair elections – free of shenanigans. The hope and prayer were that the win would be “too big to rig,” and so it was.
Order Eradicating Anti-Christian Bias
Only two weeks into his second term, President Trump took decisive action to protect and enable believers to live their faith freely in America. It used to be something that was not contested; however, in recent years, the left has pushed culture and government down a road of squelching religious expression and freedoms in public life – contrary to the protections guaranteed in our Constitution.
Trump signed the Executive Action, Eradicating Anti-Christian Bias, with the stated purpose “to protect the religious freedoms of Americans and end the anti-Christian weaponization of government. The Founders established a Nation in which people were free to practice their faith without fear of discrimination or retaliation by their government.” Amen!
The order cited Biden’s weaponized Department of Justice, which incarcerated pro-life Christians for “praying and demonstrating outside abortion facilities.” All were peaceful. Those convicted were given harsh prison sentences as Biden justice simultaneously overlooked violent crimes taking place on the streets of America’s cities. It also noted that the FBI tagged Catholics as domestic terrorism threats during Biden’s term and that crimes against Christian churches in 2023 grew more than eight times the number in 2018.
The order tapped Attorney General Pam Bondi to lead a task force to root out and dispel such anti-Christian bias. The Secretaries of State, Treasury, Defense, Labor, Health and Human Services, HUD, Education, Veterans Affairs, Homeland Security, and every other cabinet-level agency are joining her. The all-hands-on-deck approach is set to complete their work by the end of Trump’s first two years.
Establishment of The White House Faith Office
The day after tackling faith bias, the President signed another Executive Order to establish an official Faith Office for The White House. The order explained, “The executive branch is committed to ensuring that all executive departments and agencies (agencies) honor and enforce the Constitution’s guarantee of religious liberty and to ending any form of religious discrimination by the Federal Government.”
It continued, “The efforts of faith-based entities, community organizations, and houses of worship are essential to strengthening families and revitalizing communities, and the Federal Government welcomes opportunities to partner with such organizations through innovative, measurable, and outcome-driven initiatives.”
It charged agencies to end discrimination against faith-based organizations or companies, as many are known to be more effective in their “capacity and effectiveness” than the government.
The office will serve as a liaison between faith leaders and organizations and seek to defend religious liberty and address antisemitism and all forms of anti-religion bias. Among other responsibilities – that office will seek to “identify and propose means to reduce burdens on the free exercise of religion, including legislative, regulatory, and other barriers to the full and active participation of faith-based entities, community organizations, and houses of worship in government-funded or government-conducted activities and programs.”
The 73rd National Prayer Breakfast
That same week, President Trump spoke at the National Prayer Breakfast, saying in part, “Faith in God has always been the ultimate source of the strength that beats in the hearts of our nation. We have to bring religion back.”
He went on to remember the assassin’s bullet that nearly took his life during the campaign in Butler, Pennsylvania. “It changed something in me. I feel even stronger. I believed in God, but I feel much more strongly about it. Something happened.”
It was the antithesis of Biden’s remarks one year earlier at the 2024 National Prayer Breakfast, where he briefly mentioned the fruit of the spirit – the extent of the faith content of his flaccid speech. He spent more time speaking of Cleo, the muse of history, than God and ended with a comment that we (Americans) have got to “remember who the hell we – who we are.” 2
Fast forward one short but eventful year and President Trump reaffirmed his commitment to the faith community in America. “My administration is absolutely committed to defending this proud heritage, and I will always protect religious liberty.”
The International Religious Freedom Summit 2025
Vice President JD Vance also weighed in on the administration’s commitment to Americans of faith when he spoke at the International Religious Freedom Summit in February.
During his remarks, Vance explained the desire to do more than legalize faith practice in our nation – but to welcome it to public life. “Religious liberty is not simply (as we all know) about legal safeguards. It is also about fostering a culture in which faith can thrive so that men and women can fully appreciate and respect the God-given rights of their fellow citizens.”
He also commented on the possibility of using national leverage to protect religious freedom worldwide. “Part of our protecting religious freedom initiatives means recognizing in our foreign policy the difference between regimes that respect religious freedom and those that do not. The United States must be able to make that distinction. We must be able to look at the catastrophes like the plight of Iraq’s Christians over the past three decades and possess the moral clarity to act when something has gone wrong.” 3
As the Trump Administration actively seeks the welfare of the Church in America, the other side continues to feel around in the dark for a moral compass.
Now, they are touting being “dark woke.” Is that like more woke? Is it a cousin to “Dark Brandon?” According to the New York Times, dark woke is about being “provocative, edgy and perilously toeing the line of not being too offensive.” It seems like they are trying to apply a thick coat of lipstick to the pig called “Woke.” That seemed to work out great for them last November, so please, carry on.
I digress.
Faith is welcome again in America, and Christians, Jews, Muslims, and those of other faith traditions can all inhale the crisp, pure air of freedom.
America was built and thrives (though imperfectly) on principles of faith in our Creator, goodness, truth, justice, mercy – and freedom. In their staunch support of the faith community, the Trump administration is helping to rebuild this solid foundation of our nation. We are grateful and eager to see what is ahead. God bless President Trump for his courage and faith – and God bless America.
Podcast Note: This week we welcomed Jillian Anderson King and Jack Brewer to our podcast. You may remember Jillian from Season 19 of the hit reality series, The Bachelor. Now she’s a Mombassador with Moms for America speaking out for fatherless children. Jack was a National Football League safety who played for the Minnesota Vikings, the New York Giants, the Philadelphia Eagles, and the Arizona Cardinals. Now, his foundation is making life-changing impact through providing tangible help to prisoners and their families.
3 youtube.com/LiveNOW from FOX
***
