AU & allies sue over Trump administration’s biased ‘Religious Liberty Commission’

New York City – A multifaith coalition has united to file a lawsuit challenging the unlawful creation of the Trump-Vance administration’s so-called Religious Liberty Commission, pointing to violations of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) and the unbalanced and biased viewpoints assembled for the panel. The lawsuit comes as the commission meets today at the Museum of the Bible.

Religious Liberty Commission consists almost exclusively of Christians

The commission was established by Executive Order 14291 on May 1, 2025. Despite the guidelines set by law through FACA, the commission’s membership consists exclusively of Christians, except for one Orthodox Jewish Rabbi, all of whom collectively represent the narrow perspective that America was founded as a “Judeo-Christian” nation and must be guided by Biblical principles. No members of the commission represent other minority religions, such as Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, or Sikhism, or non-religious Americans, and the commission’s meetings have expressly adopted and promoted purportedly Judeo-Christian ideals and viewpoints, with members routinely expressing their views during meetings that the United States is a Judeo-Christian or Christian nation.

The legal challenge is being brought by Interfaith Alliance, Muslims For Progressive Values, Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund, and Hindus For Human Rights. The coalition is represented by Americans United for Separation of Church and State and Democracy Forward. It asks that the court declare that the commission was created and administered in violation of federal law, to require the disclosure of documents that should already be public, and to ensure that any recommendations produced by this body are clearly identified as coming from an unlawfully constituted commission. 

“Religious freedom for some is religious freedom for none,” said Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush, president and CEO of Interfaith Alliance. “The government has no right to pick and choose which religious beliefs to promote, and which to marginalize. The Trump administration has failed to uphold our country’s proud religious freedom tradition, and we will hold them accountable. Today’s lawsuit is our recommitment to fight for religious liberty for all with every tool available to us.” 

“As a Muslim American organization, we have seen first hand how elevating a singular religion above others, especially in a country as religiously diverse as the United States, leads to the oppression and possible persecution of minority faiths,” said Ani Zonneveld, president and founder of Muslims for Progressive Values. “As Americans, we must work together so that no form of religious supremacy cements itself  in our country.”

“Religious freedom and religious liberty for all  are foundational American values. America thrives when all religious traditions are respected and diverse perspectives considered in the public realm. As Americans, we must work together to ensure these values are upheld,” said Kiran Kaur Gill, executive director of the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund.

“Religious liberty means religious liberty for everyone, not just one faith community. By stacking this Religious Liberty Commission with a narrow set of voices and hiding the commission’s work from the public eye, the Trump administration is evading the transparency and balance that federal law requires. Hindus for Human Rights is proud to stand with our multifaith partners to defend a pluralistic democracy where Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Jews, Christians, Buddhists, and nonreligious people all belong as equals,” said Ria Chakrabarty, senior policy director of Hindus for Human Rights.

Religious Liberty Commission must follow FACA requirements

Congress enacted FACA in 1972 to curb the executive branch’s reliance on secretive and biased advisory committees, and the law establishes strict requirements for the creation and conduct of committees that are intended to influence national policy. Every advisory committee must meet public transparency requirements, be in the public interest, be fairly balanced among competing points of view, and be structured to avoid inappropriate influence by special interests. 

“The Religious Liberty Commission isn’t about protecting religious liberty for all; it’s about rejecting our nation’s religious diversity and prioritizing one narrow set of conservative ‘Judeo-Christian’ beliefs,” said Rachel Laser, president and CEO of Americans United. “The commission’s public meetings – most of which have been held at the Museum of the Bible and have been dominated by a very specific brand of Christian faith, Christian prayers, and predominantly Christian speakers – are a vivid example of this favoritism. The commission’s true purpose and operations can’t be squared with America’s constitutional promise of church-state separation.”

“Since the nation’s founding, the values of religious liberty and pluralism have been central to the American identity. These values are now under accelerated attack. The Trump-Vance administration’s Religious Liberty Commission is not about religious liberty, it is about pursuing a culture of Christian Nationalism that seeks to divide and isolate people across our nation,” said Skye Perryman, president & CEO of Democracy Forward. “The fatally flawed way this commission was assembled makes clear that the outcome isn’t just un-American, it’s against the law. Inspired by this diverse multifaith coalition of plaintiffs and their commitment to true religious liberty, we will continue to use every legal tool available to protect the American people and the best of our nation’s values.”

The case before the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York is Interfaith Alliance et al. v. Trump et al. The legal team on this case includes Anna Deffebach, Robin Thurston, and Ayesha Khan from Democracy Forward and Jenny Samuels from Americans United. 

*Perryman also serves as a member of the Board of Interfaith Alliance. 

Integrated Bible curriculum, vocal school prayer proposed for Tennessee schools

Chattanooga Times Free Press
By Kailee Shores

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Groups call for boycott of National Prayer Breakfast

Baptist News Global
By Mark Wingfield

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Civil rights groups call for rejection of Jewish charter school in Oklahoma

KOSU (Oklahoma City, OK)
By Ben Abrams, Beth Wallis

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FFRF: Revised Education Dept. prayer guidance goes too far

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is raising serious concerns about new guidance issued yesterday by the U.S. Department of Education on “constitutionally protected prayer and religious expression” in public elementary and secondary schools, warning that the document moves away from prior guidance and invites confusion, misapplication and increased religious coercion in public education.

“Students absolutely have the right to hold any religious belief or none at all,” says FFRF Co-president Annie Laurie Gaylor. “But they also have the right to attend public school without being subjected to prayer, proselytizing or religious pressure. This guidance risks tipping that balance at the expense of religious minorities and nonreligious families.”

Although the guidance repeatedly states that public schools may not sponsor or compel religious activity, the national state/church watchdog cautions that the document’s framing underemphasizes the constitutional duty of public schools to protect student freedom of conscience by leaving religious instruction or indoctrination where it belongs: with families. The guidance encourages expansive interpretations of religious rights that come at student expense.

“This guidance purports to restate existing law, but in practice it encourages schools to privilege religious expression over students’ right to a public education free from religious coercion,” says FFRF Deputy Legal Director Liz Cavell.

The new guidance, unveiled so that President Trump could announce it with much boasting at the National Prayer Breakfast sponsored by a theocratic outfit, replaces a 2023 version issued under the Biden administration and marks a clear shift in emphasis. While the prior guidance focused on neutrality and preventing coercion, the new version reframes disputes as alleged “burdens” on religious exercise and urges schools to broadly “accommodate” religious activity unless they can satisfy a demanding constitutional standard.

Notably, the guidance expands protections for prayer by teachers and other school employees, asserting that staff “need not pray behind closed doors” and that visible prayer, even when students voluntarily join, does not itself constitute coercion.

“The authors of this document must have forgotten the New Testament verse that explicitly warns not to pray publicly like ‘the hypocrites,’ but ‘when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret,’” quips Gaylor, citing Matthew 6:5-6.

FFRF notes that the new interpretation ignores the reality of school power dynamics, especially for younger students.

“Treating religion as just another viewpoint ignores the Constitution’s unique prohibition on government endorsement of religion,” adds Cavell. “Public schools have a heightened duty to avoid even the appearance of religious favoritism, because students are a captive audience and teachers and coaches wield unavoidable authority.”

While the guidance nominally acknowledges that schools may not force students to pray or sponsor religious activity, FFRF stresses that constitutional violations rarely involve explicit commands. Instead, coercion most often arises through subtle pressure, staff participation or religious activity embedded in school events, precisely the types of violations FFRF corrects nationwide on a daily basis.

The guidance relies heavily on recent Supreme Court decisions, including Kennedy v. Bremerton School District (2022), a ruling that FFRF’s Student Rights campaign exists in part to counteract, as school officials increasingly misinterpret it to allow staff-led prayer. The guidance also explicitly rejects the long-recognized “wall of separation” between state and church, signaling a deliberate retreat from bedrock Establishment Clause principles.

Combined with recent executive actions establishing a White House Faith Office and previewing the guidance before a Religious Liberty Commission, FFRF concludes that the new guidance reflects an ideological effort to blur the line between private religious exercise and public school endorsement. Most troubling, it elevates the claimed rights of adult school officials to engage in public prayer over the constitutional rights of young and impressionable students.

FFRF urges parents, educators and school administrators to remember that the Establishment Clause — which underscores that the role of our public schools is to educate, not indoctrinate in someone else’s religion — remains binding law to ensure public schools serve all students equally, believers and nonbelievers alike.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a U.S.-based nonprofit dedicated to defending the constitutional principle of separation between state and church and educating the public on matters relating to nontheism. With about 42,000 members, FFRF is the largest association of freethinkers (atheists, agnostics and humanists) in North America. For more information, visit ffrf.org.

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Charis Hoard

Charis graduated from Bowling Green State University with both a B.A. in Psychology and a Master of Public Administration degree. She previously worked as FFRF’s governmental affairs intern before working at Media Matters researching anti-abortion misinformation. In her free time, she loves to attend concerts & music festivals, go for a run, and hang out with her chatty tabby cat, Milo.

The post Charis Hoard appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.

Trump (surprise) uses National Prayer Breakfast to push Christian nationalist agenda

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is calling attention to President Trump’s pandering use today of the National Prayer Breakfast to promote a Christian nationalist vision of government.

The annual event, put on by a shadowy, theocratic outfit, continued to blur the line between faith and state power. On its face, members of the executive branch and Congress officially gathering for sectarian prayer sends the message that religious belief, specifically MAGA-Christianity, enjoys privileged status in the American government. The line-up and extreme remarks at this year’s breakfast continued to promote an extremist version of Christianity.

“Symbolic violations matter,” says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. “They normalize the idea that religious belief is a qualification for public office and good citizenship, and that faith and government are united. This performative event suggests that instead of being a secular nation governed by a godless Constitution, the United States government bows to religion — in this case conservative Christianity.”

The past several years have made clear that the National Prayer Breakfast is not a benign event.

Trump spoke at the Prayer Breakfast for the sixth time today. Last year, Trump suggested he was chosen by God to lead the nation, promoted the idea that we need to bring religion back, and reinforced a Christian nationalist political program. During his remarks in person today at the Washington Hilton, the president repeatedly framed government power as a tool to advance and defend Christianity. He claimed credit for policies that have privileged religious expression in public schools and boasted about his efforts to weaken the Johnson Amendment (which restricts nonprofit electioneering).

Shockingly, while bragging that “we worked hard on getting rid of the Johnson Amendment,” he seemingly threatened churches not endorsing him: “Now, if you do say something bad about Trump, I will change my mind and I will have your tax-exempt status immediately revoked.”

Trump denigrated atheists and the nonreligious directly, implying there’s something wrong with not being religious: “I’ve always said, ‘You just can’t have a great country if you don’t have religion.’ You have to believe in something. You have to believe that what we’re doing, there’s a reason for it. There has to be a reason for it.” The State Department promoted this disparaging statement on its official X account.

Trump questioned how “a person of faith can vote for a Democrat.” He dismissed Democratic members of Congress who were present by flippantly commenting, “I don’t know where they’re here.” Reps. Jonathan Jackson, D-Ill., and Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y., seemed to be among the few Democrats who attended the event.

Confusion surrounding the National Prayer Breakfast has only deepened in recent years. Two separate events calling themselves the “National Prayer Breakfast” took place today, one on Capitol Hill and another at the Hilton, each claiming the same decades-long history and legitimacy.

Other notable attendees at the Fellowship Foundation event at the Washington Hilton included Christian nationalist Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and House Speaker Mike Johnson.

During the gathering, Rep. Ben Cline, R-Va., ironically talked about the importance of character and conscience before introducing El Salvador’s increasingly authoritarian ruler Nayib Bukele: “We are reminded that leadership is not only about policy and power, but about character, conscience, and the recognition that all authority is ultimately accountable to God. We are honored to welcome President Bukele.”

Trump’s religious adviser Paula White-Cain introduced the U.S. president as “the greatest champion of faith that we have ever had in the executive branch,” claiming he has “brought religion back to this nation and beyond.”

Trump responded: “You know, I’ve done more for religion than any other president. When Paula was saying that, it was so nice. I was proud of it. And I said, ‘That’s true.’ I told the people backstage, ‘What she said is true.’ Who else would say that, right? But it is true. But then I said, ‘But that’s not saying much, because not too many presidents have done too much for religion.’”

Near the end of his remarks, Trump touched on the arrest of former CNN anchor Don Lemon, another journalist and seven others in connection with the disruption of a Jan. 18 church service in St. Paul, Minn.

“The Department of Justice recently charged nine individuals for storming a church in Minnesota during a worship service and trampling on Americans’ First Amendment rights,” he declaimed. “I watched that tape, and you know, that was violent … right in the middle of a church service, it’s got to be illegal.”

Trump invited all Americans to the National Mall to pray on May 17 at an “America Prays” event meant to advance Christian nationalist messaging, urging the rededication of the country as “one nation under God” and claiming that prayer is “America’s superpower.” FFRF is looking into government entanglement with this devotional event.

Hegseth framed political and military authority in overtly Christian terms, zealously asserting that “all power, all honor, and all glory belong to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,” declaring “Christ is king” and invoking divine blessing over U.S. military forces.

FFRF has long opposed the National Prayer Breakfast, and the FFRF Action Fund helped organize a coalition letter, signed by several major religious organizations among others, urging members of Congress not to attend this year’s event. The letter details the breakfast’s long history of entanglement with Christian nationalism, partisan politics and foreign influence operations.

In conjunction with today’s event, the U.S. Department of Education issued guidance on constitutionally protected prayer and religious expression in public elementary and secondary schools. FFRF is reviewing the guidance and will respond as appropriate. While portions of the guidance affirm schools’ obligation to avoid establishing religion, FFRF remains concerned about its broader implications.

In recent years, FFRF has been pleased that numerous congressional leaders have declined to attend, and that members of the Congressional Freethought Caucus have publicly challenged the event’s constitutional, ethical and human rights implications. It seems that FFRF and the caucus’ efforts have paid off, since many members of Congress chose not to attend this year’s event, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.

FFRF continues to urge all members of Congress to demonstrate a commitment to inclusive governance and religious neutrality by refusing to be exploited in this partisan, political, theocratic event with a boycott of future National Prayer Breakfasts.

“Congressional prayer is a ruse to advance theopolitical, anti-democratic aims,” Gaylor says. “Our lawmakers should instead spend some time protecting true religious freedom by keeping religion out of government — not elevating it above the Constitution.”

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a U.S.-based nonprofit dedicated to defending the constitutional principle of separation between state and church and educating the public on matters relating to nontheism. With about 42,000 members, FFRF is the largest association of freethinkers (atheists, agnostics and humanists) in North America. For more information, visit ffrf.org.

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Freethought Radio – February 5, 2026

FFRF Legal Director Patrick Elliott reports on FFRF’s exciting new legal developments to protect state/church separation. Then as a memorial tribute, we play an interview of Barbara G. Walker, a provocative bestselling skeptic and feminist who died recently.

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Americans United denounces Trump’s Christian Nationalist remarks at National Prayer Breakfast

Americans United for Separation of Church and State President and CEO Rachel Laser issued the following statement in response to President Donald Trump’s remarks today during the National Prayer Breakfast: 

Trump’s use of National Prayer Breakfast corrupts religious freedom

“President Trump once again demonstrated why the National Prayer Breakfast is a gross corruption of religious freedom and our country’s promise of church-state separation. For more than an hour he launched partisan attacks at a religious event purportedly meant to foster unity. He lied about the Johnson Amendment, America’s popular law that prevents tax-exempt nonprofits, including houses of worship, from endorsing or opposing partisan political candidates – falsely claiming he got rid of it, though in fact this federal law is very much still in effect. And he spewed Christian Nationalist rhetoric about rededicating ‘America as one nation under God’ during an ‘America prays’ event in May and about prayer being ‘America’s superpower.’ Our nation’s commitment to church-state separation, the guarantee of religious freedom, is America’s real superpower, and an American original. 

“The Trump administration is attacking church-state separation, a pillar of American democracy, to advance a Christian Nationalist agenda of imposing one narrow set of beliefs on everyone. Not on our watch. Americans United is committed to fighting Trump’s un-America agenda. We went to court to protect the Johnson Amendment. We’re challenging the administration’s bogus claims of ‘anti-Christian bias’ in three federal lawsuits. We’re investigating Trump’s Christian Nationalist Religious Liberty Commission. We’re helping federal workers protect themselves from religious coercion. We’re defending the religious freedom of public school students and their families in multiple states. And we’ll monitor how the Trump administration uses the new guidance on prayer and religious expression in public schools released today to promote his political agenda. We’ll continue leading a national recommitment to church-state separation. Our democracy depends on it.”

FFRF removes religious influence from Missouri district’s sports program

Photo by Patti Black on Unsplash

The Freedom From Religion Foundation has successfully worked with the Hannibal School District #60 in Missouri to stop religious prayers at district softball events.

A concerned parent reported that on Nov. 13, 2025, the Hannibal High School Girls’ Softball Coach directed a student to lead all attendees in prayer at the softball team’s award banquet. While the student led the prayer, the coach and the assistant coach reportedly stood and bowed their heads with the students and parents in attendance. The parent who contacted FFRF stated that this is the second year in a row that the coach promoted religion while acting in his official capacity as coach. Additionally, the assistant coach had a pattern and practice of praying with students before and after games while serving as a representative of the district.

The parent stated that they and their child felt “obligated” to participate in the banquet prayer because the vocal majority of the team was religious, and they feared retaliation. Further, the student reported that the prayers made them uncomfortable, but they participated to avoid losing opportunities to receive awards or have the coach speak to college coaches on their behalf.

“It is unrealistic and unconstitutional to put student-athletes to the choice of allowing their constitutional rights to be violated in order to maintain good standing in the eyes of their coach and peers or openly dissenting at the risk of retaliation,” FFRF Staff Attorney Sammi Lawrence wrote to the district. 

As the student reported, student-athletes are especially susceptible to coercion, and the relationship between student-athletes and their coaches is inherently coercive. Students know that their coaches control their positions on the team, including who plays in each game. When coaches direct students to lead and participate in prayer, the student-athletes will no doubt feel that participating in that prayer is essential to pleasing their coaches and being viewed as a team player. They are unlikely to speak up against coach-led prayer and proselytizing even if they feel uncomfortable. By allowing coaches to direct students to lead prayer and foist their religious beliefs onto student-athletes, the district abridges that duty and needlessly marginalizes the 38 percent of Americans who are non-Christian, including the 43 percent of Generation Z that is nonreligious.

Following FFRF’s intervention, the district took immediate corrective action.

Superintendent Ritchie Kracht recently emailed FFRF to detail an investigation that confirmed FFRF’s report. Kracht explained that he spoke with both coaches to make sure they fully understand that the prayers were unacceptable. 

“The head coach will ensure this will not happen again in his program, Kracht wrote. “We are also educating the rest of our coaching staff in all our activities to ensure this does not happen again.”

FFRF applauds the district for taking steps to safeguard students’ constitutional rights.

“It has always been FFRF’s stance that student-athletes should never feel forced to pray to play,” FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor states. “We hear stories like this far too often. FFRF will always stand up for the right of students to dissent without fear of retaliation.”

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a national nonprofit organization with 42,000 members across the country, including hundreds of members in Missouri. Our purposes are to protect the constitutional principle of separation between state and church, and to educate the public on matters relating to nontheism.

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