On Thursday, President Trump filed an executive order establishing the “Religious Liberty Commission,” designed to address what the administration claims are threats to “America’s unique and beautiful tradition of religious liberty.” Among these threats, they list “prevent[ing] parents from sending their children to religious schools, threaten[ing] loss of funding or denial of non-profit tax status for faith-based entities, and singl[ing] out religious groups and institutions for exclusion from governmental programs.”
The executive order focuses solely on the administration’s interpretation of the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment, which allows citizens to practice their faith freely, without threat of recrimination. It leaves out any mention or allusion to the Establishment Clause, which prohibits the federal government from favoring any particular religious tradition.
The commission will consist of 14 presidential appointees from various public and private sectors. Additionally, the Attorney General, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, and the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy will serve as ex officio members of the commission.
The commission will be expected to provide a report to the president on “the foundations of religious liberty in America, the impact of religious liberty on American society, current threats to domestic religious liberty, strategies to preserve and enhance religious liberty protections for future generations, and programs to increase awareness of and celebrate America’s peaceful religious pluralism.”
Tony Perkins, the pro-Trump president of the Family Research Council, praised the move. In a statement, he said, “This important natural right, that belongs to all people—as our first president, George Washington, noted—is not just a talking point for Americans, it’s foundational to who we are and reflected in our laws and policies.”
Other prominent religious liberty advocates expressed skepticism about the proclamation. In a statement, Americans United for Separation of Church and State’s President and CEO, Rachel Laser, said, “This commission is not about religious liberty, but about advancing Christian Nationalism.”
Trump has appointed Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick and former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson to chair the board, which is made up almost exclusively of evangelical Christians. One member, Rabbi Meir Soloveichik, is Jewish, while another, TV personality Phil McGraw, has no publicly available religious affiliation.
In her statement, Laser points to this unbalance as proof of the commission’s commitment to Christian nationalism.
The commission’s report is due to the president on July 4, 2026, the 250th anniversary of the United States’ independence. At a press conference announcing the commission, attendees sang “Amazing Grace” before President Trump signed the executive order.
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