COMMENTARY: At Monday’s hearing of the Religious Liberty Commission, the president and faith leaders underscored that America’s founding promise of religious freedom is under renewed attack in schools and universities.
WASHINGTON — On Monday, the Presidential Commission on Religious Liberty held its second hearing at the Museum of the Bible. I was honored to be in the audience. The focus was on safeguarding religious freedom in America’s schools.
The headliner was President Donald Trump, who used the occasion to announce that the Department of Education will issue new guidance reaffirming that students are free to pray in schools. But he did not stop there.
The president declared, “To have a great nation, you need to have religion.” He also pointed to other initiatives of his administration’s second term: pardoning pro-life protesters, many of whom are motivated by religious convictions regarding the dignity of human life; settlements with universities that failed to protect Jewish students from antisemitic harassment; tax credits tied to school choice; and a growing number of civil rights and Title IX investigations. His full remarks can be viewed here.
Trump also took direct aim at Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va. Kaine remarked recently that Americans’ rights come not from our Creator, but from the government. As I wrote in the Register, such a view “denied the very foundation of our liberty.” By reaffirming that our basic human rights are God-given and not granted (or easily taken away) by the government, the president underscored a truth at the heart of our nation’s founding and religious freedom itself.
He also paid tribute to the children killed and those wounded in the horrific shooting during an all-school Mass in Minneapolis. The moment was made even more poignant by the presence of Bishop Robert Barron of Minnesota, a member of the commission, who solemnly nodded in agreement.
Joining the president was Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Scott Turner, who described the administration’s America Prays initiative — “a call for Americans to unite in prayer for the nation’s strength, peace, and prosperity as the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence approaches.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi, who introduced the president, highlighted the work of the Department of Justice’s Task Force to Eradicate Anti-Christian Bias. She cited the Task Force’s recent findings, which point to troubling patterns of hostility by the former administration toward Christians. Vigilance and the robust enforcement of legal protections for religious liberty will guarantee that faith is not pushed out or erased from American society.
Before the president’s arrival, Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York offered an opening invocation. Also a member of the commission, he reminded all present that America’s commitment to religious freedom is not only a promise found in the Constitution but also a moral imperative that is grounded in the dignity of the human person. His words highlighted the importance of protecting the public witness to the faith.
The commissioners also heard moving testimony from students who dared to stand up for their faith when school officials or teachers tried to silence them.
One young girl was told she could not wear a “Jesus Loves Me” facemask during the pandemic; administrators even secretly rewrote COVID-19 policies to justify their censorship. Another student was told his valedictory address could not mention the role of Jesus in his life. He gave the speech anyway and received a standing ovation. A young sibling pair were told that the “separation of Church and state” meant they couldn’t sing Christian songs at a school talent show until administrators backed down after legal counsel intervened.
Later in the day, parents and students spoke about the spread of gender ideology in public schools. One boy and his mother described how he was directed to read a book promoting gender confusion to his kindergarten “reading buddy.” A mother from Michigan shared the devastating account of her middle-school daughter being “socially transitioned” without parental knowledge. Parents and advocates from Montgomery County, Maryland, recounted their years-long fight to opt their children out of “Pride Storybooks” — a collection of “LGBTQI+-inclusive” storybooks — woven into the curriculum for children as young as pre-K.
Higher education was also given scrutiny. Of particular note were the egregious attacks on Jewish students and the need to hold universities accountable for ensuring that students of all faiths can freely learn in our nation’s colleges and universities.
These testimonies gave a vivid human face to the growing hostility toward religion in America’s classrooms and the courageous students and parents who are speaking out not as victims but as champions of freedom.
The setting of the Museum of the Bible reinforced the significance of the day. As a testament to the role of faith in our nation’s story, the museum reminded everyone in attendance that religious liberty is not a relic of the past but a living promise to be protected.
The Sept. 8 hearing should serve as a wake-up call that religious freedom is under attack in classrooms and campuses across the country. Catholic families have a vital role to play, whether our children are in public schools or attend private, faith-based ones.
We must raise them to stand up for their faith with courage and charity. As the testimony showed, even the youngest among us can be witnesses to faith. May we pray for those who testified, for the commission, for the president and for our nation — so that religious freedom in America not only survives but flourishes.