President Donald Trump has signed two executive orders in regards to introducing Christianity as the official religion of the United States of America. Is this a breach of the First Amendment right to Freedom of Religion?
Executive orders
President Donald Trump recently signed two executive orders in law regarding religion.
The first one, “Eradicating Anti-Christian Bias” is an executive order that calls upon the First Amendment to end hate towards Christians. In this executive order, Trump claims that the previous administration promoted “anti-Christian hate” and he is eradicating it.
“My Administration will not tolerate anti-Christian weaponization of government or unlawful conduct targeting Christians. The law protects the freedom of Americans and groups of Americans to practice their faith in peace, and my Administration will enforce the law and protect these freedoms,” Trump said in a statement. "My Administration will ensure that any unlawful and improper conduct, policies or practices that target Christians are identified, terminated band rectified.”
The second one, “Establishment of The White House Faith Office” is an executive order that establishes an office as a means for the government to help religious groups. This is meant to support families and communities. This executive order includes the rewriting of a few other orders to include religious protections.
“Faith-based entities, community organizations and houses of worship have tremendous ability to serve individuals, families and communities through means that are different from those of government and with capacity and effectiveness that often exceeds that of government,” Trump said in a statement.
These all seem like fairly good orders on paper, but U.S. citizens are concerned that these could turn into ways to enforce religion on America which is unconstitutional.
Breach of religious freedom?
According to the U.S. Constitution, America has no national religion. With that being said, it is reported that the religion with the most people in it in the U.S. is Christianity. According to the 2020 census, 71% of the country is Christian. This is important because that means the majority of our population has reported themselves as being Christian in some way.
So does that mean that these executive orders are well liked?
Not quite, since his very first election in 2016 Christian nationalists have been heavily associated with the Republican Party, more specifically MAGA. Christian nationalists, according to the Deccan Herald, insist that the U.S. was founded as a Christian conservative nation and should be ruled by contemporary White Christian conservative values. However, this does not mean all Christians are Christian nationalists or like Trump and his policies.
“I voted for Trump back in 2016. I was all in on the Trump Train, it made sense,” Springfield resident William Cooley said. “When it came time for me to choose who to vote for in 2020, I was not so sure. It seems like politics started becoming less about politics and more about petty arguments."
Cooley is a proud republican and voted for Trump in the 2016 and 2020 elections, but ultimately chose not to vote for the president in the 2024 election.
“Don't get me wrong, I am still a republican and I still do not agree on a fundamental level with some of the democratic policies. With that being said, I do not like where Trump is headed, and I have not been happy with many of his decisions he's made so far,” Cooley explained.
Religion played a factor in Trump's presidential campaign this past election cycle, often referencing the Bible several times throughout several rallies. Moderates, Democrats and those against Trump, and his policies, are concerned that these executive orders are linked to a far-right movement called “Project 2025."
"Project 2025” is a far-right effort to help conservatives get their policies into law. It is run by the Heritage Foundation, a Christian-conservative foundation. Their goals are to heavily push for conservative legislation in our government.
During Donald Trump's 2025 presidential campaign, it was highly speculated whether or not Trump would be instilling some of these values that are seen in “Project 2025." While on the campaign trail, Trump adamantly denied being involved with the project; however, since being sworn into office, he has instilled executive orders that follow the project exactly.
This is concerning for opponents, as Project 2025 is heavily influenced by Evangelical Christian values and elements of Christian nationalism. Opponents are concerned that these executive orders are stepping stones to some of the project's more nefarious plans.
“He is literally already doing project 2025, [he is] just not naming it that so we don’t freak [out],” concerned citizen Jynx Ford said. “[He has\'s already coming for the rights of women, LGBTQ people, people of color and education. What is stopping him at this point from coming for our religious freedoms?"
Ford identifies as Pagan, and they are fearful that if these executive orders continue that they will have to hide their religion.
“The amount of people that already tell me that I'm going to hell for being pagan... [it is] crazy. [I am] scared that if these crazy Christian people get more power like they want to, [I am] going to have to go into hiding or [it is] going to be a literal witch hunt,” Ford said. “My mom was Pagan, my grandma was Pagan [and] her mother was pagan. It runs in my family. [I am] very concerned not only for my religion, but for other religions like Muslims and Jewish people."
It is up in the air right now what Trump is trying to do with these executive orders. Right now, it is hard to see whether or not these executive orders are constitutional. American citizens will just have to wait and see if Congress or the courts do anything to stop these policies or if politics and religion merge.
