BJC statement on President Trump’s speech at the Religious Liberty Commission meeting

Media Contact: Karlee Marshall | [email protected]

The following is a statement from Amanda Tyler, executive director of BJC (Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty), on President Trump’s recent remarks to the White House Religious Liberty Commission at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C.:

“President Trump’s speech was not about religious liberty; it was about perpetuating Christian nationalism. Calling for government to ‘bring back religion in America,’ privilege so-called ‘Judeo-Christian principles’ above all others, and direct the Department of Education to issue new guidance on prayer in public schools turns the Constitution on its head and invites government interference where it does not belong.

 

The First Amendment protects every person’s right to follow their faith freely, or no faith at all, without government interference. When political leaders suggest that religion is the government’s to promote, they threaten the very freedom they claim to defend.

 

Equally troubling, the president repeated false claims about the Johnson Amendment, which still prohibits tax-exempt churches from endorsing candidates for office. Mischaracterizing the law invites dangerous entanglement between churches and partisan politics, undermining both religious integrity and democratic fairness.

 

Faith is strongest when it is voluntary. The Baptist tradition has long insisted that government has no business dictating religious belief or practice, whether in our churches, our schools, or our personal lives. BJC will continue to oppose Christian nationalism and advocate for religious freedom for all people.”

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