WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump on Sept. 8 announced that the Department of Education will issue new guidance protecting the right to prayer.
“I’m pleased to announce this morning that the Department of Education will soon issue new guidance protecting the right to prayer in our public schools,” Trump said in a speech at the Museum of the Bible.
He called up a fifth-grader named Shay Encenas, who recalled having to read a book to a kindergarten student about changing his gender called “My Shadow is Pink.”
“The book said you can choose your gender based on feelings instead of how God made us. I knew this was not right, but I was afraid of getting in trouble,” he said.
The boy alleged that he was mistreated by his school and his schoolmates after his family spoke up.
“I believe kids like me should be able to live our faith at school without being forced to go against what we believe,” Shay said. “I hope no other family has to go through what mine did.”
The event marked the second hearing of the Religious Liberty Commission, created by Trump in May through an executive order aimed at protecting the free exercise of religion. It focused on religious freedom in public schools and included testimony from students and parents.
During the first part of the hearing, Lydia Booth, a student from Mississippi, shared her story of being prohibited from wearing a “Jesus Loves Me” face mask while in third grade at a public elementary school during the COVID-19 pandemic. She and her mother challenged the decision in court, and after two years the case was settled, affirming students’ rights to express their faith. Booth said the experience taught her an important lesson, that “you are never too young for your voice to matter.”
Other witnesses included Justin Aguilar, who was warned by school administrators not to include religious references in his valedictorian speech, and Valerie Cleveringa, who said her school tried to bar her from singing a religious song in the school talent show.
During his speech, Trump announced that he delivered his family Bible, gifted by his mother and used in his inaugurations, to be displayed in the Museum of the Bible, calling it an honor.
Trump praised religious leaders, saying they currently have less influence than they deserve.
“We have to give your voices back,” he said.
The Religious Liberty Commission is composed of 13 religious leaders, scholars, and public figures representing diverse faiths, including television host Phil McGraw, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, and Rabbi Meir Soloveichik. Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick serves as chair, with former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Dr. Ben Carson as vice chair.
On June 16, the interfaith panel held its first session to discuss eliminating religious discrimination by the federal government and promoting the public good through encouraging the moral principles held in common by various faith groups.
The commission’s key focus is protecting parental rights in religious education, supporting school choice, safeguarding conscience protections, defending houses of worship from attacks, ensuring free speech for religious organizations, and upholding institutional autonomy.
According to a White House fact sheet issued on May 1, the U.S. Constitution guarantees the fundamental right to religious liberty through the First Amendment. But recent government policies have threatened this right, it said.
“Recent Federal and State policies have undermined this right by targeting conscience protections, preventing parents from sending their children to religious schools, threatening funding and non-profit status for faith-based entities, and excluding religious groups from government programs,” the fact sheet stated.
Since returning to office, Trump has taken several actions to strengthen religious liberty, including combating rising anti-Semitism, creating a White House Faith Office to protect religious communities, and establishing a task force at the Department of Justice to address anti-Christian bias and unlawful targeting of Christians.
In light of the Aug. 27 shooting at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis, the Department of Homeland Security announced that it would award $110 million to more than 600 faith-based organizations across the country to help them ramp up security.
During his remarks, Trump highlighted his efforts over the past eight months to defend religious freedom and his actions to crack down on crime in Washington.
“We’re in a much different world today than we were one year ago,” he said.
Stacy Robinson contributed to this report.
Correction: A previous version of this article gave an incorrect date for the Aug. 27 shooting at Annunciation Catholic School. The Epoch Times regrets the error.
