Trump

Religious Freedom is Not a Problem to Be Managed 

In the ramp up to the 250th anniversary of America’s independence, you might have missed the recent release of the Religious Liberty Commission’s final 224-page report.

Established back on May 1, 2025, via executive order by President Donald Trump, the group began its work with a simple but foundationally sound premise:

“Religious liberty is essential because religion itself is indispensable to a flourishing society.”

The commission was chaired by Dan Patrick, the Lieutenant Governor of Texas, and he was joined by individuals representing a broad and diverse spectrum of faith: Dr. Ben Carson, Reverend Franklin Graham, Dr. Ryan Anderson, Bishop Robert Barron, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Eric Metaxas, Mrs. Allyson Ho, Dr. Phil McGraw, Kelly Shackelford, Rabbi Meir Soloveichik and Pastor Paula White-Cain.

Dozens of other individuals served as advisory board members and legal experts.

Throughout the past 14 months, the commission met in-person seven times and worked tirelessly throughout the process to review, examine, identify and make practical and actionable recommendations to the President regarding the overall health of America’s first principles.

In the final report, the group shared they had identified a common and disturbing theme that those of us within the social conservative and faith-based space have long warned about.

The commission concluded:

Far too often in our national life, religion is treated not as a protected and valued contribution to public life, but as a problem or annoyance to be managed, restricted, or sidelined.

Those who either scoff at or dismiss this succinct warning may suffer from either a bad or selective memory, or may simply choose to ignore scores of related court battles and victories right up to the United States Supreme Court.

Since 2018 alone, you’ve had to keep a scorecard to keep up with the many legal battles. Nearly all of them have stemmed from aggressive secular progressives attempting to roll back First Amendment rights.

From Jack Phillips and the Masterpiece Cakeshop here in Colorado, to the Little Sisters of the Poor, Coach Kennedy, battles over the rights of faith-based foster agencies, and Christian schools getting squeezed out from participating in state-supported tuition reimbursement programs, the High Court has consistently reaffirmed the constitutionality of America’s religious freedoms.

“We believe that safeguarding religious liberty requires more than defending legal rights after they have been violated,” stated members of the commission. “It requires cultivating a culture that understands why those rights exist in the first place.”

Focus on the Family’s Daily Citizen exists to provide that very service to readers and friends of the ministry.

Included in the fulsome report are dozens of practical recommendations, organized under various categories. You can read the full slate of them, but here are some highlights:

For Religious Leaders, Institutions, and Houses of Worship:

• Issue guidance to ensure the Johnson Amendment is not applied to chill religious leaders’ First Amendment right to provide religious guidance to their communities.

For Education:

• Ensure the constitutional guarantees of religious liberty and parental rights are enjoyed by families of all socioeconomic means by promoting a robust and universal system of school choice where funding follows the child. 

• Encourage agencies to take proactive measures to defend public school students’ rights to exercise their faith, such as creating hotlines or portals through which students can report violations and increasing public awareness of existing reporting channels. 

• Defend teachers’ and faculty’s rights in public-run schools by creating a hotline/portal to report violations. 

For Parents:

• Ensure the constitutional guarantees of religious liberty and parental rights are enjoyed by families of all socio-economic means by promoting a robust and universal system of school choice where funding follows the child. 

• Defend parental rights in government-run schools by issuing Department of Justice guidance on parental rights. 

For Religious Healthcare Workers and Institutions:

• Protect religious healthcare workers from being coerced to participate in procedures that violate their religious beliefs by expanding the coverage of the Church Amendments and providing a private right of action for violations.

For Business:

• Support legislation to codify protections for religious organizations against debanking. 

• Order the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to create “Know Your Rights” resources to protect private sector employees from religious discrimination.

The commission also rightly addressed the so-called “wall of separation between Church and State” that has been so badly misinterpreted for decades, particularly by progressives and those eager to excise all public expressions of faith. The report notes the concept of the mythical barrier originated from a letter that Thomas Jefferson wrote and it can be found nowhere in the First Amendment.

“[The] belabored metaphor—often used out of context—cannot support the view that the aim of the First Amendment was to exile the practice of religion from public life. And no Founding document supports that conclusion either.”

In addition to specific recommendations designed to protect specific areas and industries, the Commission’s report also provided a dozen more for every American:

1. Instruct the Department of Justice to issue guidance clarifying the proper understanding of the Establishment Clause and separation of church and state. 

2. The Department of Justice, Department of Health and Human Services, and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission shall issue “Know Your Rights” Posters and FAQ’s for students, parents, public school teachers and administrators, religious leaders, religious institutions, healthcare workers, and military service members.

3. Any public official who alleges a person under their supervision has improperly engaged in religious expression must provide a written explanation of the alleged violation to the person accused within 30 days of any action and explain that charge based upon a specific constitutional provision or provision of law. 

4. Instruct the Department of Justice, Department of Health and Human Services, and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, to explore opportunities to create religious liberty violation reporting hotlines/online portals for students, parents, teachers, healthcare workers, and others to obtain support in the face of religious liberty violations and increase public awareness of existing reporting channels. 

5. Nominate and confirm federal judges with the courage to decide religious liberty cases on the merits where warranted, rather than engage in improper judicial avoidance. 

6. Ask the Department of Justice to create a religious liberty task force to track and prioritize litigation protecting religious liberty. 

7. Combat anti-Semitism through enforcement of civil rights laws, litigation of credible allegations of anti-Semitic discrimination and violence, and civic education. 

8. Protect religious Americans from government-led litigation targeting their free exercise.  

9. Repeal the Johnson Amendment which purports to give the government authority to regulate religious leaders’ sermons and spiritual guidance to their communities. 

10. Order the Department of War to streamline and improve the religious accommodation process. 

11. Continue efforts to restore the retirement or re-enlistment eligibility of service members who lost employment, health insurance, pensions, and other benefits because of their religious beliefs about the COVID-19 vaccine. 

12. Honor the courage of religious liberty heroes through creating a Presidential Medal of Religious Liberty and First Freedom Hero Awards to recognize Americans who stand up for religious freedom and play an indispensable role in protecting citizens’ Constitutional rights.

We’re grateful for the seriousness and earnestness with which President Trump and the members of the commission have approached this critical work designed to preserve and protect America’s religious freedoms. Indeed, America’s true strength comes not from its military muscle or government largesse. Instead, it stems from the nation’s Judeo-Christian roots and the individual and collective faith of its citizens. Our ongoing prayers and the implementation of these recommendations will serve to help preserve the hard-fought religious liberties that are an American hallmark.

America’s Birthday Bash and a Worldview Clash

Parties and celebrations reflect priorities and passions – and that was certainly the case when it came to the festivities surrounding America’s 250th birthday.

Criticism of the revelry also revealed the ongoing clash of worldviews, one that is not only political and ideological but also spiritual.

A full week prior to Independence Day, the radical leftist Drudge Report had already declared Washington, D.C.’s “Great American Fair” a bust. “Melted Ice Cream and Empty Booths,” screamed the online gossip rag. In the days leading up to the Fourth, neither Drudge nor mainstream media outlets seemed interested in highlighting anything positive about the mass festival unfolding in our nation’s capital.

Have there been some problems with the fair? Of course. No event is perfect, especially multi-week ones held in the open air in the middle of an oppressive heat wave. Yet, representatives from Focus on the Family have been warmly hosting and welcoming friends and visitors from inside the family pavilion since the beginning of the festival.

On Tuesday, Focus on the Family president Jim Daly interviewed Focus’ Tim Goeglein from a stage inside the fairgrounds. They discussed the importance of teaching our children about civics and America’s heritage of faith. It was an enthusiastically received program and will air sometime soon. 

On July 4th, The New York Times ran a piece chronicling President Trump’s address at Mount Rushmore on the eve of Independence Day. Against the backdrop of the majestic stone carvings of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln, the 45th and 47th president delivered an inspiring and thoughtful speech that celebrated our past and present. Standing under the historic monument, President Trump declared:

We remember that what we have created in this country is not the natural way of the world. It is not the norm. It is the exception. It is rare. It is priceless, and it is truly miraculous. 

Throughout the entire story of humanity, most people in most places have lived a life plagued by suffering, poverty, exploitation, violence, and misery. But here in America, in this land on this continent, we have written a very different story. It’s a tale of adventure, liberation, and unmatched greatness. It’s the story of people governing themselves. The many uniting as one, the men and women rising by their own skill and talent to go further and reach higher than anyone has ever gone before.

He added:

You’re not that new a breed. You’re a really good breed, but I’m not sure that you’re that new a breed. Americans did not bow before a king or a government, but kneeled only before Almighty God. That’s right. These were the people who founded our republic. These were the patriots who fought for independence. 

In America, we do not need anyone’s permission to say what we think and to live as we please, to worship as we choose, or to keep and bear arms. No one has ever given more to charity, ended more hunger, cured more disease or done more to uplift humanity than Americans and no country ever will be able to match it.

In his remarks, President Trump emphasized America’s “can-do” spirit, noting our citizens openly embrace a philosophy of constant improvement. “What is fast can be made faster,” Mr. Trump said. “What is great can be made greater than ever before … Show us a mountain and we’ll just climb it. Show us an ocean and we’ll just cross it.”

Mr. Trump took the occasion to warn the country about a recent electoral fascination with communism. “Communism is the exact opposite of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” he rightly stated. “It’s death, tyranny, and the pursuit of evil … They don’t want good, they don’t love God, they don’t love religion, and they don’t want religion.”

The New York Times’ Shawn McCreesh was presumably watching the same speech but seemed to see and hear a very different message.

“Mr. Trump read from an apocalyptic script,” claimed the scribe from the Old Grey Lady.

In reality, the president’s remarks were anything but the gloom-and-doom warning of a coming catastrophic implosion of the Republic that critics suggested. It was downright upbeat.

“For 250 years, American freedom still rings,” he said. “The American dream still lives, and the American flag still flies more proudly than ever before over the people who will not quit, the nation that will not fail … no matter how hard the enemy tries, we cannot be beaten.”

The “America 250” celebrations laid bare the ongoing clash of worldviews. How we see culture and everything in it dictates how we live. It influences our interpretation of words and our understanding of reality. Most importantly, our worldview affects our relationship with and acceptance of God’s authority and sovereignty in our lives, as well as His supremacy in America’s founding, present and future.

Nate Bargatze Does Not Owe Anyone an Apology

Comedian Nate Bargatze is under fire for attending this past Saturday’s “UFC Freedom 250” – the seven-bout ultimate fighting spectacle at the White House.

The controversial event emerged out of a long-time friendship between President Donald Trump and UFC founder Dana White.

Held on the White House lawn under what’s called “The Claw,” the octagon stage was surrounded by between 4,000 and 5,000 attendees, including the Nashville comic. After an image of the family-friendly Bargatze at the event was shared on social media, numerous individuals purporting to be fans of Nate took to various platforms to denounce his presence. 

The visceral reaction didn’t have to do with Bargatze being a fan of the UFC, but rather that he would dare attend anything with any connection to President Trump.

The comic was also criticized for taking pictures at the White House with Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Speaker Mike Johnson and podcaster Joe Rogan. 

In response to the unhinged harassment, a spokesperson for Bargatze said the comedian, “Is not political nor is anything he produces.” They also noted Nate appreciates supporters “from both sides of the aisle.”

While some may question his affinity for the UFC, Nate Bargatze owes neither an apology nor explanation to anyone. The attempt to shame and cancel him is a reckless, irresponsible, and immature response to a raw partisan attack.

The rise of the current cancel culture is an example of a coarsening climate that is increasingly void of a generosity of spirit. Gracious disagreement is quickly becoming a dying virtue.

While the controversy may seem like a new development, public shaming has been a tactic of ideological revolutions and a tool used by people in positions of authority or influence for a very long time. Attempts to ostracize individuals or entire movements date back hundreds or even thousands of years.

Back in 1077, the Roman Emperor Henry IV was sparring with Pope Gregory VII over who had the authority to appoint bishops. The pope grew weary of Henry and excommunicated him from the Catholic Church. The emperor had to publicly plead with Gregory to reconsider, which he eventually did – but not before embarrassing him.

Though a Christian, Nate Bargatze is not a victim of religious intolerance here, but he is nevertheless being caught up in the wake of political intolerance. It’s the same energy and edginess that has attempted to shame Christians who refuse to bend a knee to the spirit of the age.

Radical activists have long attempted to publicly shame Masterpiece Cakeshop owner Jack Phillips. The Colorado baker has repeatedly and consistently refused to use his creative gifts to design cakes for same-sex weddings or other sexually deviant or demonic activities. He’s been called a bigot, and his business has been boycotted.

Hobby Lobby’s David Green has been likewise publicly besmirched, but this time for refusing to cover the cost of abortifacients in the company health plan. Then there was high school football coach Joe Kennedy, who was fired and whom critics mocked for praying publicly. 

In all three examples, it took expensive legal battles – and victories at the Supreme Court – to settle and (somewhat) silence the harassers. 

According to media reports, Nate Bargatze runs the risk of losing ticket sales to his performances – all because he dared go to a sporting event endorsed by President Trump. He can weather the criticism, but that ideological aggression can’t be ignored because it doesn’t just threaten a comedian – but also Christians. When bullies are tolerated in one sphere, they’re empowered in another. 

As America approaches its 250th birthday, our country is in desperate need of a cultural reset. We pray the Apostle Paul’s words to, “If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all” (Romans 12:18) will permeate the hostile climate and forge a renewed warmth of spirit.

In China, We Pray Trump Will Advocate For Jimmy Lai and Other Imprisoned Christians

President Trump’s historic visit to China this week to meet with Xi Jinping has featured colorful pomp and pageantry, including red carpets, brass bands, even cheering and smiling children waving flags.

At a banquet inside China’s Great Hall of the People, the summit also included warm and friendly toasts between the leaders.

“Our two countries should be partners rather than rivals,” said Xi Jinping. 

Having brought along more than a dozen top American CEOs and other corporate executives, Mr. Trump emphasized the longstanding business ties between the nations.

“This bond of commerce and respect stretches back 250 years as the foundation of a future that benefits both our nations,” he said. The president then prepared to raise his glass and concluded: “To the rich and enduring ties between the American and Chinese people – it’s a very special relationship and I want to thank you again.”

By “special,” President Trump is undoubtedly referring to America and China’s economic interdependence. Representing the world’s two largest economies, the United States utilizes and regularly relies on Chinese manufacturers, and the Middle Kingdom sells to American markets and heavily depends on our dollars.

Politically and spiritually speaking, though, the two nations are worlds apart.

While America is a constitutional republic with multiple parties and free elections, China is a one-party socialist republic governed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). 

While Americans enjoy broad religious freedoms, any religious expression in China is heavily regulated and controlled by the state and the CCP. In simple terms, China isn’t shy about arresting people who don’t comply with their onerous rules regarding faith expression, which includes being in a state-controlled registered church.

Back in 2000, a bipartisan United States government commission created what’s called the “Congressional-Executive Commission on China” (CECC) to monitor and keep track of human rights violations in the country. As you can imagine, it’s challenging to maintain these records due to the extreme level of secrecy within communist China. But according to the most recent data, upwards of 3,000 individuals are being held for expressing their basic human rights.

One such individual is Jimmy Lai, a devout believer in Jesus Christ and a firm defender of democracy — a toxic combination for Communist China.

Mr. Lai was born in China, escaped to Hong Kong and started a clothing store that eventually prospered. He then took those proceeds and launched several pro-democracy newspapers and magazines. 

Jimmy was eventually arrested in August of 2020 under China’s “National Security Law” — legislation intended to root out pro-democracy agitators and anyone whose behavior was deemed subversive.

Pastor Wang Yi is another Christian on the list. He was arrested for “inciting subversion of state power” at the Early Rain Covenant Church. He was sentenced to nine years in prison.

It’s not clear if President Trump or anyone within the United States delegation has or plans to bring up the plights of either Lai or Wang or the many other Christians being held in Chinese prisons – but we pray they will do so. When asked about Jimmy Lai in a previous interview, President Trump said, “I’m going to do everything I can to save him. We’ll see what we can do.”

Amidst the various pressing issues on the table in China – from the Iran war to Taiwan to companies eager to make trade deals – it’s easy to see why the plight of religious prisoners may not be capturing headlines.

Thankfully, we know the Lord is aware of those believers in China who are being held hostage because of their faith and unwillingness to bend a knee to the CCP. In fact, we also know Jesus anticipated oppression and situations like this would happen. That’s why He said, “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:10, ESV).

We pray for Jimmy Lai, Pastor Yi, and all the Christians being persecuted. We also pray for the boldness of President Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, that they would find an opening to appeal for greater religious freedom and the release of those currently being held hostage because of their Christian faith.

President Trump to Students: Get Ready to Run Some Laps!

With the stroke of a black Sharpie pen, President Donald Trump has reinstated the awards associated with the famed Presidential Fitness Test Award.

Created by President Eisenhower in 1956 after research revealed American youth were growing increasingly soft and flabby, the physical test was phased out and replaced with a new program by President Obama that focused on general health.

Those of a certain age likely remember the annual ordeal in the school gymnasium that featured sit-ups, pull-ups, a shuttle run, and then a mile jaunt around the track.

You probably didn’t mind it if you were in shape, but dreaded it if you weren’t, which was the whole point of the tradition. 

“Physical fitness is not only one of the most important keys to a healthy body – it is the basis of dynamic and creative intellectual activity,” stated President John F. Kennedy. “We are not a nation of spectators. We are a nation of participants.”

Surrounded by schoolchildren, as well as professional golfers Gary Player and Bryson DeChambeau, Baltimore Ravens cornerback Amani Oruwariye, and longtime Major League Baseball pitcher Noah Syndergaard, standing behind President Trump was Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Secretary of Health and Human Services and a renowned fitness advocate.

He stated:

“We need to be competitive with each other. We need to teach people how to win and how to lose and how to process victory and defeat.”

He then added:

“We’re now the sickest nation in the world. We’ve gone from five percent of our kids being obese to twenty percent, seventy percent of adults are obese or overweight, and seventy-seven percent of our children cannot qualify for military service. And that should be an eye-opener for all of us, and I’m so grateful to President Trump for his leadership and his vision of reinstituting the physical fitness test.”

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, who also regularly works out, concurred. 

“We need young, strong, healthy Americans, whether you serve in the military or any other aspect of your life,” he declared. “And I think this Presidential Fitness Test, Mr. President, is a great, perfect thing to restore—something that sets high standards for young people and gives them something to achieve.”

President Trump, who was a three-sport varsity athlete (football, soccer, and baseball), and now at 79 years of age, is a skilled golfer known for drinking voluminous amounts of Diet Coke, joked about his own exercise regimen.

“I work out so much, like, about one minute a day, max. If I’m lucky,” he declared.

Today’s signing reinstates the presidential awards given to students who reach certain milestones. 

Scripture is clear that we’re to treat our bodies well and use it to glorify the Lord (1 Cor. 6:20). The Apostle Paul also states we’re to discipline our body and “keep it under control” (1 Cor. 9:27).

The emphasis on student fitness is part of the Trump administration’s “Make America Healthy Again” commitment. 

Following the signing ceremony, President Trump went outside to the White House lawn to oversee students doing pull-ups and sit-ups. 

In reinstating the Presidential Fitness Test Award program and incentivizing participation and competition, Mr. Trump and his administration are banking on the belief that more physically fit children will lead to a more disciplined and determined nation. We pray that’s the case.