FFRF warns about Trump counterterrorism strategy targeting secular Americans 

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is expressing its concern over the deeply authoritarian and unconstitutional language contained in the Trump administration’s newly released 2026 United States Counterterrorism Strategy.

The document pinpoints secular political groups, transgender advocacy and anti-fascist political activism as potential terrorists while promising aggressive government action against organizations deemed “anti-American” or “radically pro-transgender.”

FFRF, a national state/church watchdog whose membership is largely nonreligious, is concerned about the single but prominent reference to “violent secular political groups,” which appears to stigmatize nonreligious Americans. The document does not define “secular,” a term that can apply to anything that is not specifically religious and doesn’t necessarily refer to nonreligious individuals or groups.

“We know of no current ‘violent secular political groups,’ so it is chilling to see the administration connect violence with peaceful and educational secular advocacy,” points out FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. “The federal government has no business treating secularism, political dissent or support for LGBTQ+ rights as inherently suspect ideologies requiring surveillance and ‘neutralization.’”

FFRF emphasizes that secular Americans are not enemies of the state. Nonreligious Americans make up nearly one-third of the country, and younger generations are increasingly secular. Our secular Constitution explicitly guarantees freedom of conscience.

Perhaps in its most disturbing passages, the strategy states that “our national CT [counterterrorism] activities will also prioritize the rapid identification and neutralization of violent secular political groups whose ideology is anti-American, radically pro-transgender, and anarchist.” The White House document goes on to promise that the administration will “map them at home, identify their membership, map their ties to international organizations like Antifa, and use law enforcement tools to cripple them operationally before they can maim or kill the innocent.” This kind of language and rhetoric, which is associated with authoritarian governments, dangerously conflates protected political viewpoints and secular advocacy with terrorism and extremism.

The document portrays conservatives and Christians in the United States and worldwide as uniquely persecuted while depicting progressive political movements as looming internal threats. It specifically references “the politically motivated killings of Christians and conservatives” and cites the assassination of Charlie Kirk by “a radical who espoused extreme transgender ideologies.”

FFRF also condemns the document’s ominous embrace of extrajudicial-style rhetoric from President Trump himself, who declares in the document’s foreword: “If you hurt Americans, or are planning to hurt Americans, ‘We Will Find You and We Will Kill You.’”

Americans should be deeply disturbed by a counterterrorism strategy that combines militarized rhetoric with ideological targeting. Counterterrorism powers are dangerous tools, which, as history shows, can be used to target marginalized groups, dissidents and political opponents.

The document has already drawn widespread criticism from national security experts and former officials, who have described it as incoherent, amateurish and politically motivated rather than a serious strategic framework.

The administration’s criticism of “anti-American” ideology could be used to justify expanded surveillance, investigations or suppression of lawful advocacy groups and political organizations. Congress, civil liberties groups and the public should closely scrutinize the administration’s use of counterterrorism authorities to ensure that national security powers are not weaponized against secular Americans, LGBTQ+ advocates or political dissenters.

FFRF will continue to defend the Constitution’s foundational principles of freedom of conscience, secular government and protections for unpopular speech and minority viewpoints.

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 more than 41,000 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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FFRF insists that Ark. sheriff’s office halt inmate baptisms

Photo by Guido Coppa on Unsplash

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is urging the Drew County (Ark.) Sheriff’s Office to immediately stop encouraging or coercing inmates to undergo baptisms.

FFRF was recently informed that the Drew County Sheriff’s Office has been baptizing Drew County Detention Facility inmates. A March 12 post from the sheriff’s official Facebook page reads:
I am very proud of these 13 men and women (many I have known for years and even watched grow up) who made that public profession today at Pauline Baptist Church. While the Devil tried to do his best to ruin the day we would not allow that to happen. He made cuffs not want to come off and he even tried locking the rear doors on the transport van where detainees couldn’t get out to be baptized but we made sure to help fulfill God’s plan and we got them there.
I want to thank all of those who come and witness to these men and women and to our staff for making it work!
God is at work,
Sheriff Tim Nichols

FFRF is demanding that the Sheriff’s Office cease the practice of coercing inmates to participate in religious exercises. 

“By organizing, hosting and promoting inmate baptisms and celebrating inmates’ conversions to Christianity on its official social media, the Sheriff’s Office is unconstitutionally favoring religion over nonreligion, and Christianity over all other faiths,” FFRF Staff Attorney Sammi Lawrence writes to Sheriff Tim Nichols. 

A county detention facility is an inherently coercive environment and inmates and detainees are literally a captive audience. When the Sheriff’s Office entangles itself with religion and makes it clear that it’s encouraging inmates to convert to Christianity, inmates will no doubt feel pressured to convert and participate in religious activities to be seen as cooperative and well behaved. Inmates and detainees who are aware of the Sheriff’s Office’s promotion of Christianity will not genuinely feel free to refuse to participate in its religious activities. This practice is constitutionally impermissible. And the Sheriff’s Office’s promotion of religious activity needlessly marginalizes the 38 percent of Americans who are non-Christians, including the nearly one in three adult Americans who are religiously unaffiliated.

“It is egregious and unacceptable that a sheriff would arrange Christian baptisms for inmates, using sheriff’s department transportation, time and staff to take them from the prison to the sheriff’s church of choice,” FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor says. “The sheriff may not involve himself or the Sheriff’s Office in the conversion of inmates, or use official communication channels to post his personal beliefs in God, not to mention ‘the Devil.’ We expect this to stop immediately.”

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a national nonprofit organization with over 41,000 members and several chapters across the country, including hundreds of members and a chapter in Arkansas. Its 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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The 3 Things Christians Choose Instead of Truth

White House to host taxpayer-funded Christian Nationalist rally in D.C.

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The White House will host a Christian Nationalist rally this weekend to honor the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. That’s not me exaggerating what’s actually happening; that’s quite literally the plan.

“Rededicate 250: National Jubilee of Prayer, Praise & Thanksgiving,” taking place this Sunday on the National Mall, is described as a way for all Americans to come together “with Scripture, testimony, prayer, and rededication of our country as One Nation to God.” And of course they’re referring only to the Christian God because this administration has made clear religious freedom only applies to conservative Christians. (It’s happening shortly after many of those same Christians celebrated a right-wing Supreme Court ruling allowing states to suppress the power of the Black vote—another item on conservatives’ longterm wishlist.)

They’re calling it a “rededication” but that’s also a misnomer. America was never dedicated to the Christian God in the first place. Not legally. Not metaphorically either.

Nor is this by any means a private gathering. There are numerous corporate sponsors, and funding for the massive event comes in part from “millions in public dollars earmarked for the nation’s 250th birthday celebration,” according to the Washington Post. (The exact amount isn’t clear.) The event will technically be organized by the non-profit Freedom 250, but that’s a White House-affiliated group that some senators have already said could “violate federal bribery, conflict of interest, and ethics laws.”

The nine-hour event—capped by a literal worship service—will feature a slew of right-wing religious zealots, all of whom have looked the other way because Donald Trump pays them lip service while going against damn near everything the Bible teaches.

But it begins on Saturday with warm-up acts, including MAGA-aligned conspiracy theorists Sean Feucht, Eric Metaxas, Mark Driscoll, and Greg Locke.

Feucht referred to the event back in February after getting off a planning call with the White House. He said at the time, “I never would have imagined our own government getting behind revival meetings!”

Even the White House is echoing that idea. This is how the government’s website describes this event:

At sunrise, the National Mall will transform into a large-scale revival, beginning with worship, testimonies, and music, and culminating in a powerful national moment of prayer. Streamed to parishes, the event is amplified through coordinated media and a lead-up series with pastors and partners highlighting the Church’s role in history and civic life. A main stage and faith-based activations will set the scene for high-energy praise, prominent Christian artists, and major faith leaders, creating an energized moment of unity.

Right Wing Watch has a helpful rundown of all the “Christian Nationalists, Grifters, Charlatans & More” who will participate in this charade.

Outside of administration officials, the speakers include Dr. Larry Arnn (president of right-wing Hillsdale College), singers from Liberty University and Grand Canyon University, evangelist Franklin Graham, MAGA pastor Robert Jeffress, the actor who played Jesus in The Chosen, and dozens of other bootlickers. Pete Hegseth is also on the lineup, though it’s unclear if he’ll be reading from the Bible or the Pulp Fiction screenplay. There are a few non-Protestants in the lineup—former New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan, Minnesota Bishop Robert Barron, Orthodox Rabbi Meir Soloveichik—but all of them are conservatives who have a history of promoting Christian Nationalism. As the Guardian put it, “The lineup includes no Muslims, no representatives of historically Black churches, no Indigenous faith leaders and no mainline Protestants.”

And driving home the point that this now represents the country’s quasi-official religion, music will also be provided by the Air Force, Navy, and Marines.

But none of this paints an accurate portrait of the country—not now and not in the past.

“I’m unaware of anything like this, with this involvement of senior government officials, on this scale, trying to paint this false picture of the United States as a quote unquote Christian nation,” said Amanda Tyler, executive director of BJC, a Baptist group that aims to promote religious liberties through church-state separation as outlined in the First Amendment. “Trump’s rhetoric in the past 18 months is how he’s ‘going to make America Christian again,’ that it’s his job to push religion. This is all part of that piece.”

…

To say people who wrote the Constitution believed in God or prayed in public, said Princeton University historian Kevin Kruse, is as revelatory as saying they “wrote by candlelight.”

“It’s not causal,” he said. “Look at the document. The only rules they wrote about religion were ones that keep religion at arm’s length. No establishment, no limits on free exercise, no religious test for office.”

“There’s a difference between saying America is a nation with many Christians in it and that America is a nation dedicated to Christianity and defined by it,” Kruse said. “Those are very different things.”

The irony is that the Trump administration is seriously pretending this is absolutely not a Christian-only event:

The White House directed questions about the jubilee to Freedom 250. An adviser to the group, Danielle Alvarez, said the organization “welcomed input from faith leaders and communities across the country” and the event “will bring together diverse voices from many faiths, backgrounds, and communities to reflect on the extraordinary story of America.”

“Diverse voices from many faiths”! Right. Everyone from far-right Christians to further-right Christians.

When White House faith adviser Paula White-Cain hyped up the event two weeks ago, Brittany Baldwin, executive director of the White House’s 250 Task Force, addressed common questions she had heard, such as what the event will look like and how different faiths would be represented. Her response? “We’re really focusing on our heritage as a Judeo-Christian… Christian Nation.”

White-Cain soon added that Christians had raised concerns that the event might honor different religions—God forbid!—but rest assured, she told them, that no other faiths would be honored: “They’re like ‘Well, are we going to be praying to, like, all these different gods and stuff?’ But really, it’s about the history and the foundations of our nation, which was built on Christian values, on the Bible.”

She came so close to getting it. It would be pretty damn frustrating if a government-sponsored event included prayers to gods you don’t believe in… but she failed to connect the dots that that’s precisely what this event involves for the majority of Americans who don’t subscribe to her rancid beliefs.

I guess it makes sense that a celebration of Christianity is built on lies. Because in no way does this event represent the breadth of religious beliefs across the country. It doesn’t even represent the variety of Christian beliefs in this country. If the country gave a damn about its founding ideals, none of this would be happening at all since we’re supposed to be a secular nation that doesn’t pretend to have a national faith at all.

Instead, this event is being run by the very people who have spent decades spreading lies about our history—and trying to get those lies taught in public schools in places like Texas.

The all-day event — gates open at 9 a.m. and it will wrap at 6 p.m. —includes military bands, six Christian musical performers and speakers organized around three “pillars,” which the web site listed as “miracles” God imparted on America in the past, “personal testimonies of God’s healing” and a “unified moment of rededication.”

It also will feature one of the six 18-wheeler “Freedom Trucks” created by Freedom 250, which are traversing the country to teach about the founding of the nation. The material was created by two organizations that have led efforts to inject conservative content in K-12 classrooms: PragerU, a nonprofit that offers “a pro-American, Judeo-Christian message,” according to its tax forms; and Hillsdale College, a Christian school in Michigan.

For what it’s worth, there are alternative events honoring the nation’s 250th, though none will be as massive as this one. In Philadelphia, for example, later this month, American Atheists will host an event called “America Beyond 250: Reclaiming the Promise of Pluralism.”

America Beyond 250: Reclaiming the Promise of Pluralism is a half-day event that will push back against the dangerous and exclusionary narratives of White Christian Nationalism and advance a vision of a more inclusive and democratic future.

At a time when debates over history, identity, and belonging are intensifying at all levels, this event brings together advocates on the front lines, public thinkers, scholars, and community leaders to confront the stakes of our current moment and to imagine what comes next — and what we need to do to make the vision a reality.

The Secular Coalition for America added in a statement:

“America’s strength has always come from its religious freedom,” said Steven Emmert, Executive Director of the Secular Coalition for America. “Events like ‘Rededicate 250’ aim to link patriotism to Christian nationalist ideologies, which is both false and deeply alienating to the growing number of nonreligious Americans. National commemorations should unite Americans across diverse beliefs, not elevate one religious belief over others.”

…

“At a time when we should be reaffirming our commitment to pluralism and constitutional values, efforts like this move us in the wrong direction,” Emmert said. “Our national celebrations must reflect all Americans – not just those who follow a particular faith.”

Unfortunately, these voices of reason don’t control the purse strings or have the power.

What makes this event so disturbing isn’t just the selfishness and ignorance of everyone involved, it’s the way they’re tying patriotism into a religious rally. As if everyone who doesn’t share their faith is inherently un-American. These people routinely complain that Christians are victims of religious discrimination—to the point where the Trump administration had a sham task force to study “anti-Christian bias”—and yet here they are using the levers of power to promote their religion over all others. The same levers they use to oppress atheists, Muslims, and even progressive Christians.

They will use a taxpayer-funded stage backed by the White House, military bands, corporate sponsors, and millions in public dollars to claim they’re victims of religious persecution.

That’s the core of Christian Nationalism: There’s nothing spiritual about it. There’s no compassion involved. It’s just about uniting conservative Christianity with every branch of government to elevate faith over non-faith and one faith over all others.

The organizers of this spectacle aren’t interested in honoring the First Amendment or the concept of religious pluralism that actually defines this country. They’re going to do on the National Mall what they’ve been trying to do in history classes throughout the country: exclude voices that aren’t theirs in order to rewrite history and make themselves look like the good guys. That’s why they’re bringing in propaganda outlets like PragerU and Hillsdale College. They want everyone to accept a mythological version of America that never existed.

This ought to be a time of real celebration, but we aren’t going to get it because the sort of people who would’ve proudly supported the Confederacy (and everything it stood for) are now in charge. This rally doesn’t represent America, historically or morally. If anything, the founders went out of their way to prevent exactly this kind of government-backed religious favoritism from taking root.

The best we can hope for is that this event will one day be seen as a perfect example of how we strayed from any founding ideals worth preserving.

FFRF targets unconstitutional prayers by Arkansas archery coach

Photo by Balint Mendlik on Unsplash

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is urging the Valley View Public Schools system to immediately put a stop to a district archery coach’s practice of leading team members in prayers.

A concerned district parent informed the state/church watchdog that the archery coach at Valley View Intermediate School has a pattern and practice of leading students in Christian prayer before tournaments and official archery events, such as a recent awards ceremony. Audio provided to FFRF from this ceremony confirmed that the coach and what appeared to be a coach-selected student led the entire audience, including other students, in an explicitly Christian prayer. 

The parent who reported this unconstitutional practice explained that they are not religious and that they are “more than disappointed” that their child has been “exposed to such blatant proselytizing.” 

FFRF has written to the district to stand up for students’ and parents’ rights of conscience.

“Here, the archery coach is undeniably pushing her personal religious beliefs onto students by coercing the entire archery team to participate in prayers as part of official school-sponsored activities,” FFRF Staff Attorney Sammi Lawrence writes. “The coach is blatantly crossing the constitutional line and violating student-athletes’ First Amendment rights.”

Student-athletes are especially susceptible to coercion, and the relationship between student-athletes and their coaches is inherently ripe for coercion. Students know that their coaches control their positions on the team, including who plays in each game. When coaches lead students in prayer or direct students to lead their teammates in prayer, students will no doubt feel that participating in the prayer is essential to avoiding punishment, pleasing their coach, and being viewed as a team player. They are unlikely to speak up against their coach pushing religion on them, even if they do not feel comfortable. It is unrealistic as well as unconstitutional to make students choose between allowing their school coach to violate their constitutional rights or openly dissenting — with the risk of punishment and further retaliation.

School-sponsored prayer also needlessly marginalizes students, such as our complainant’s child, who are nonreligious, or those who are members of minority faiths. Statistically, nearly half of Americans born after 1996 are nonreligious.

FFRF asserts that to protect students’ First Amendment rights, Valley View Public Schools must immediately investigate and ensure that the Valley View Intermediate School archery coach ceases leading students in prayer and assigning students to lead other students in prayer.

“FFRF has long believed that students should never feel they have to pray to play,” FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor says. “District sports coaches are well aware of the position and influence they hold. Students’ rights must be protected from coercive religious practices, especially when they feel participation influences their standing on the team.” 

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a national nonprofit organization with over 41,000 members and several chapters across the country, including hundreds of members and a chapter in Arkansas. Its 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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Monumental problem: Trump arch would carve religion into public space

The Freedom From Religion Foundation strongly objects to the religious messaging and symbolism on President Trump’s proposed 250-foot triumphal arch in Washington, D.C.

While there is widespread opposition to the arch, which Trump has quadrupled in size since first proposing, the religious component to the proposal has not received attention.

Renderings of the proposed structure depict the phrase “ONE NATION UNDER GOD” engraved prominently across the facade of the massive arch, which Trump has demanded as part of the nation’s 250th anniversary celebrations. His design also features patriotic and quasi-religious imagery, including gold eagles, lions and a winged angel figure modeled after Lady Liberty.

“Combining explicit religious language with national symbolism sends a dangerous message that belief in God is tied to patriotism and American identity,” says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. “That excludes millions of nonreligious Americans and violates the foundational principle that government must remain neutral on matters of religion.”

The arch — a gaudy, gold-plated imitation of Paris’ Arc de Triomphe — is just another Trump vanity project. Asked last year who the monument was intended to honor, Trump reportedly gave a one-word answer: “Me.”

Nearly 1,000 written comments submitted to the federal Commission of Fine Arts opposed the arch. Not a single comment supported it. Polling likewise shows that Americans oppose the proposal by a margin of 51 percent to 21 percent. Nevertheless, the commission — now stacked with Trump appointees — granted preliminary approval minus the gilded statues on top, even as lawsuits move forward seeking to block the monument.

FFRF notes that while the project is framed as patriotic, the inclusion of “One Nation Under God” transforms it into an explicitly religious statement. The phrase itself was not part of the original Pledge of Allegiance. It was only added at the behest of religious lobbies in 1954 during the Cold War. FFRF has long challenged the religious tampering with the Pledge, noting that it is unconstitutional, exclusionary and obviously inaccurate, since many Americans do not believe in a god.

FFRF is also criticizing the monument’s angelic imagery. The proposed design reimagines Lady Liberty, who traditionally represents secular ideals of freedom and democracy, in overtly religious terms by depicting her as a winged heavenly figure.

The proposal has already sparked criticism from architects, historians and veterans groups, who argue that the giant arch would overwhelm the nearby Arlington National Cemetery and disrupt the historic character of the National Mall. Legal challenges are also underway over whether the project can proceed without explicit congressional authorization.

Questions also remain over funding. Although Trump has suggested private donors could finance the project, reports indicate that the National Endowment for the Humanities has reserved $15 million for the effort, raising concerns about taxpayer involvement in what amounts to a religiously infused vanity monument.

FFRF emphasizes that public monuments should unite Americans around shared constitutional principles — not promote theological beliefs.

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 more than 41,000 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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FFRF rebukes Trump cabinet officials pushing D.C. Christian nationalist rally

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is decrying the inappropriate official promotion of an upcoming Christian nationalist prayer rally on the National Mall that it has been warning about.

Numerous cabinet officials have released slick endorsement videos and social media endorsements to promote the revival on Sunday, May 17, encouraging Americans to attend what organizers are describing as a day of “worship,” “Scripture,” “testimony” and national prayer. Energy Secretary Chris Wright has called the event “a national celebration honoring the shared ideals that shape our country.” Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has described it as “a day of reflection, prayer, and hope for America’s future.” Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has promoted the gathering as “a day centered on worship, testimony, prayer, and hope for our nation’s future.”

And Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has declared, “A nation worth fighting for is a nation worth praying for.” At the same time, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin has proclaimed: “Our Founders turned to faith as their guide as they laid the foundation of the greatest nation in history.”

“This is Christian nationalism in action working through the federal government,” says Annie Laurie Gaylor, co-president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation. “I can’t imagine a more blatant example than this government-hosted event that equates piety with patriotism and portrays one brand of Christianity as the core of American identity.”

The rally features a roster of sitting government officials and political figures, including Hegseth, House Speaker Mike Johnson, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., and White House Faith Office adviser Paula White.

The event, branded as “A National Jubilee of Prayer, Praise & Thanksgiving,” is being promoted as a nationwide effort to “rededicate” America to God ahead of the country’s 250th anniversary. Organizers explicitly describe the gathering as rooted in “giving thanks for God’s presence in our national life” and include a “collective expression of gratitude” asking for “God’s blessing, guidance, and grace for the next 250” years. “One nation under God” is the theme of the prayer fest’s sponsor, Freedom 250, an initiative President Trump announced in December that a group of senators is investigating for possibly siphoning off up to $100 million in taxpayer dollars intended for America 250, a campaign created by Congress to celebrate America’s birthday with civics events.

Prominent religious-right figures and Christian nationalist leaders, such as Franklin Graham, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Bishop Robert Barron, Robert Jeffress, Samuel Rodriguez, Jonathan Falwell, Jentezen Franklin and Lou Engle, are joining in. Private Christian bands and choirs will perform alongside military bands.

The rally program repeatedly frames American history through an explicitly religious lens. One featured segment, titled “The Miracles that Made Us,” celebrates “God’s providence throughout 250 years” and “the faith that inspired America’s Founders.” Another pillar calls for “A New Birth of Faith and Freedom” through a national “rededication” to God.

Totally ignored is the fact that the U.S. Constitution was the first in history to omit any reference to a deity and that its only references to religion are exclusionary, such as barring any religious test for public office. Under the First Amendment, government may not favor religion over nonreligion or one religion over others.

FFRF emphasizes that Americans are free to pray, worship and practice religion privately. “But this event is doing precisely what government officials may not do, using governmental imprimatur to endorse religion, organize a national worship campaign and tie belief in a god to patriotism and citizenship,” adds FFRF Co-President Dan Barker.

FFRF is still awaiting its Freedom of Information Act request seeking information on the funding of the prayer event. Last week, it called on its members and the public at large to boycott United Airlines and Mastercard, which are among the major corporate sponsors.

No matter how many politicians wrap religious extremism in patriotic rhetoric, the United States remains a secular constitutional republic — and FFRF will defend the rights of all Americans to live free from government-imposed religion.

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 more than 41,000 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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Debate: Did Jesus Rise From the Dead? – Trent Horn vs Alex O’Connor

On the Front Lines

In a moment defined by the rise of White Christian Nationalism, sitting quietly isn’t an option. The stakes are far too high.

The post On the Front Lines appeared first on American Atheists.

MAGA pastor says Trump understands the Bible better than Pope Leo

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During an interview on Fox News Sunday morning, MAGA pastor Robert Jeffress insisted that Donald Trump understands the Bible better than Pope Leo. All because Trump wants to murder innocent people in Iran after starting an unnecessary war there.

JEFFRESS: I think it’s commendable that the Trump administration is meeting with the pope, and trying to work with the pope. The pope is a good man. He’s sincere in his faith. But he is sincerely wrong when it comes to Iran.

The pope ought to know—and I think he does know—God created both the church and government for two distinct purposes. The role of the church is to point people to faith in Jesus Christ. But the role of government is to protect citizens from evildoers, according to Romans 13.

And, look, three days after this conflict began, I was in the Oval Office with President Trump and a few other faith leaders, and he told us that Iran was within weeks of getting a powerful weapon that would destroy Israel, much of the Middle East, it could bring great harm to America, and he had no choice but to act.

And I thanked him, then, for having the courage to fulfill his God-given responsibility to protect our nation. And, you know, the great irony is it looks like President Trump has a better understanding of what the Bible teaches about the role of government than the pope has.

And I’m glad the president hasn’t backed down at all.

You can’t get much more gullible than that.

Jeffress didn’t bother questioning Trump about his lie regarding Iran’s weapon capabilities—the same lie that Benjamin Netanyahu has been telling for decades now. He just accepted Trump’s statement as fact, thanked Trump for lying to him, then went on Fox News to amplify the same lie to viewers.

He also has his history wrong, since church/state separation isn’t meant to be interpreted through any kind of biblical lens. That’s kind of the whole point.

And it’s deeply ironic that Jeffress cited Romans 13 in defense of Trump’s war given that the same chapter says all the commandments can be summed up in the phrase “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

But that last part about how Trump apparently understands the Bible better than the pope, even if we’re just talking about the role of government, is laughable. Mostly because the only thing Trump knows about the Bible is that if you wave it in front of white evangelicals, they’ll let you get away with anything from financial corruption to trying to overthrow democracy to alleged child sexual abuse.

It’s not like Pope Leo was even chiming in on the role of government. A month ago, during his Easter message, the pontiff urged people to “abandon every desire for conflict, domination and power” before the world became “indifferent to the deaths of thousands of people” and the “hatred and division that conflicts sow.”

“Let those who have weapons lay them down,” he said. “Let those who have the power to unleash wars choose peace! Not a peace imposed by force, but through dialogue!”

“We cannot continue to be indifferent,” he continued. “And we cannot resign ourselves to evil.”

After Trump lashed out against him, the pope doubled down on his own message of peace:

“I will not enter into debate. The things that I say are certainly not meant as attacks on anyone. The message of the Gospel is very clear: ‘Blessed are the peacemakers,’” Leo said.

“I will not shy away from announcing the message of the Gospel and inviting all people to look for ways of building bridges of peace and reconciliation, and looking for ways to avoid war any time that’s possible.”

Speaking to other reporters, he added: “I’m not afraid of the Trump administration or of speaking out loudly about the message of the Gospel, which is what the Church works for.’‘

Those were the supposedly controversial remarks that Jeffress insisted showed a lack of understanding of the Bible, which actually tells us a lot more about Jeffress’ own views than anything else. He constantly cherry picks Bible passages to affirm his own brand of conservative cruelty while happily ignoring everything to the contrary.

Even when Trump had his inauguration in 2025, and Right Rev. Mariann Budde, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, asked Trump and JD Vance to use their powers for good, Jeffress chimed in to say that Budde “insulted rather than encouraged our great president.”

Jeffress has ignored the fact that Trump is the Two Corinthians guy. The guy who says he doesn’t need forgiveness. The guy who couldn’t name his favorite Bible verse. The guy who held up a Bible in front of a church after his team used tear gas to drive away peaceful protesters. The guy who sells a tacky Bible with sticky pages by plastering his name on it. The guy who posts AI slop depicting himself as Jesus. The guy who just unveiled a golden statue of himself despite the Bible having a famous story about not worshiping a Golden Calf.

As I’ve said before, not a single white evangelical church in America would ever allow Trump to be their pastor if they wanted to be taken seriously. And yet more than half of Republican voters (a good chunk of whom would describe themselves as conservative Christians) seriously believe Trump is a person of faith.

Meanwhile, the pope has a Master of Divinity from Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, and a doctorate in Canon Law from the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas in Rome. He might know a little something about the Bible.

As for the pope’s position on Iran, 48% of Americans are on his side compared to only 28% who support Trump and Vance. Incredibly, in that same YouGov/Economist poll, atheists and agnostics overwhelmingly support the pope (80%) compared to only 42% of Roman Catholics.

Do you know how awful someone has to be for the pope to be the voice of moral authority? I never could have guessed that, in the national divorce, atheists would get the Vatican.

I guess we shouldn’t be surprised at this point that MAGA Christians would easily choose Trump over the Bible. Hell, if they ever met brown-skinned Palestinian Jesus, they would try to deport him, not worship him. But that’s Christian Nationalism for you. There’s nothing Trump can do, an clearly unbiblical as it may be, that will cause bootlickers like Jeffress to admit they don’t actually give a damn about Christianity; all they care about is political power.