WASHINGTON – On May 1, 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order establishing the Presidential Commission on Religious Liberty (RLC). As he did so, he questioned one of the most enduring principles of American governance: “The separation [of church and state], I don’t know, is that a good thing or a bad thing?”
Two weeks ago, on June 16, the commission held its first meeting at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C. That venue choice alone raised eyebrows, but what unfolded in the auditorium—adorned with alternating American and Department of Justice flags—deepened concerns among advocates for pluralism and constitutional integrity.
A Commission with a Mandate—and a Message
The RLC was established to produce a comprehensive report advising the White House Faith Office and the Domestic Policy Council. Its focus includes “school choice,” “conscience protections,” “attacks on houses of worship,” and the “institutional autonomy” of religious organizations. The commission will also consider legislative or executive actions in response to its findings.
Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick chairs the body, with former HUD Secretary Dr. Ben Carson as vice chair. They are joined by high-profile conservative figures including Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Franklin Graham, TV personality Phil McGraw, and Paula White, Trump’s longtime spiritual advisor. Trump appointees to the commission and its three advisory boards include media figures, political operatives, and religious leaders who overwhelmingly represent a narrow, theologically conservative Christian worldview.
The inaugural meeting of the Religious Liberty Commission took place at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C on June 16, 2025. | Image via YouTube/ The Justice Department
Stacked with Allies
By mid-May, Trump had named 42 individuals to the RLC and its advisory boards. Among them are Kristen Waggoner and Ryan Tucker of Alliance Defending Freedom—a group designated as anti-LGBTQ+ by civil rights watchdogs—as well as representatives from The Heritage Foundation and several institutions advocating for a “Christian founding” narrative of the U.S.
No members explicitly represent Pagan, Wiccan, Indigenous, Hindu, or secular humanist traditions. Only one identifiable non-Christian sits on the commission: Rabbi Meir Soloveichik. Women, especially cis and trans women of color, are notably underrepresented.
Americans United for Separation of Church and State (AU) called this lack of diversity both predictable and dangerous. “This commission makes a mockery of religious freedom,” said AU President Rachel Laser, who attended the inaugural meeting. “It was created to advance the myth that the United States was founded for white Christians and that our laws and policies must continue to favor their beliefs.”
Inside the Museum of the Bible
Alessandro Terenzoni, AU’s Director of Policy and a former civil rights attorney for the Department of Justice, shared his reflections on the event in a press release. “Candidly, I felt out of place and perhaps a bit unnerved,” he wrote, recalling how the stage was set with a “V” of commissioners facing witnesses at the center.
Terenzoni noted the symbolic weight of holding the meeting under DOJ flags, especially as the commission’s email RSVP system ran through DOJ accounts. “Housing this Commission at the Justice Department is a deliberate choice that should disquiet all of us,” he wrote. That discomfort peaked when Attorney General Pam Bondi addressed the commission, declaring it would be “the tip of the spear” in defending their version of religious liberty.
Terenzoni and several others quietly left the meeting after Bondi’s remarks, unwilling to silently witness what they saw as the politicization of the Justice Department in service of a Christian Nationalist agenda. “This Commission seems to be confused,” he said, “about whether we are a constitutional republic or a theocracy.”
White House Logo
Hearings to Come
The RLC is slated to hold up to nine hearings through 2026. According to Patrick, the commission will not report to Congress but will instead make its findings and recommendations directly to the President.
At the June meeting, witnesses included law professors Gerald Bradley and Mark Rienzi, both of whom emphasized traditional interpretations of religious liberty rooted in Christian doctrine. Rienzi went so far as to characterize today’s challenges as stemming not from interfaith tensions but from “anti or irreligious folks” attempting to stamp out religious expression.
Paula White echoed that tone, decrying what she described as the “de-banking” of churches and the violation of parental rights. “Employees have been fired over their faith,” she claimed, adding that President Trump had to pardon 23 pro-life activists who had prayed silently outside abortion clinics.
The Bigger Picture
While framed as a defense of “religious freedom,” critics argue that the commission’s agenda favors a narrow religious ideology and seeks to entrench it through federal policy. By stacking the commission with ideologues and hosting meetings in explicitly Christian spaces, the administration appears to be using the machinery of government to institutionalize Christian Nationalism.
With hearings scheduled into 2026 and the presidential election looming, the RLC’s activities—and the narratives it promotes—will almost certainly shape the national conversation about faith, freedom, and the future of American pluralism.
As Rachel Laser warned, “Religious freedom is not theirs to wield as a weapon of fear or domination.”
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