Trump Establishes Religious Liberty Commission to Protect First Amendment Rights - Faith & Freedom News

May 2, 2025 – Washington, D.C.

President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order on May 1 establishing the Religious Liberty Commission, a landmark initiative designed to safeguard and promote America’s founding principle of religious freedom. This action represents the latest in a series of steps the administration has taken to address what it describes as growing threats to religious liberty across the United States.

Commission Structure and Purpose

The newly formed Religious Liberty Commission will bring together diverse voices from across America’s religious and professional landscape. Led by a Presidential-appointed Chairman and Vice Chairman, the Commission will include ex officio government officials alongside clergy members, legal experts, academics, and public advocates.

According to White House sources, the Commission’s primary mission is to produce a comprehensive report examining several critical aspects of religious freedom in America:

The historical foundations of religious liberty
Strategies to increase awareness of America’s religious pluralism
Analysis of current threats to religious freedoms
Recommendations for preserving protections for future generations

The Commission will work closely with the White House Faith Office and the Domestic Policy Council to develop policies protecting religious liberties and recommend specific executive or legislative actions.

Addressing Key Religious Liberty Concerns

The Executive Order outlines several focus areas for the Commission’s work, reflecting the administration’s priorities in addressing religious freedom concerns:

Protecting parental rights in religious education
Expanding school choice initiatives
Strengthening conscience protections for individuals and organizations
Investigating attacks on houses of worship
Preserving free speech rights for religious entities
Maintaining institutional autonomy for faith-based organizations

“Religious liberty is not just a policy preference—it’s a constitutional guarantee enshrined in our First Amendment,” said a senior White House official who spoke on condition of anonymity. “This Commission will ensure that right remains protected for all Americans regardless of their faith tradition.”

Responding to Perceived Threats

The establishment of the Commission comes in response to what the administration characterizes as emerging threats to religious liberty. The White House has expressed concern over recent federal and state policies that it believes have undermined religious freedom protections.

Specifically, the administration has pointed to policies targeting conscience protections, limitations on parents sending children to religious schools, threats to funding and non-profit status for faith-based entities, and the exclusion of religious groups from government programs.

The President has also criticized the previous administration’s Department of Justice, claiming it targeted peaceful Christians while failing to address violent, anti-Christian offenses.

Building on a Record of Religious Liberty Protection

The formation of the Religious Liberty Commission builds upon President Trump’s previous efforts to defend religious freedom during both his administrations.

During his first term, President Trump signed an Executive Order on “Promoting Free Speech and Religious Liberty” and implemented policies designed to protect conscience rights and ensure equal access to funding for religious institutions.

Since returning to office in January 2025, the President has signed several additional executive actions focused on religious liberty, including:

Directing federal resources to combat anti-Semitism on college campuses and in communities following the events of October 7, 2023
Establishing a White House Faith Office to incorporate religious leaders’ perspectives at the highest levels of government
Creating a “Task Force to Eradicate Anti-Christian Bias” within the Department of Justice

Implications for Religious Communities

Religious liberty advocates have welcomed the Commission’s formation, seeing it as an important step in addressing what they perceive as growing challenges to religious freedom in America.

Critics, however, have questioned whether the Commission will represent the interests of all faith traditions equally and have expressed concerns about potential implications for separation of church and state.

The Commission is expected to begin its work immediately, with preliminary findings anticipated later this year.