Advocacy
Trump Administration's Religious Liberty Commission Draft Report Politicizes Faith Instead of Protecting It
The views and beliefs expressed in this post and all Interfaith Alliance blogs are those held by the author of each respective piece. To learn more about the organizational views, policies and positions of Interfaith Alliance on any issues, please contact [email protected].
This week, Interfaith Alliance submitted a formal comment opposing the draft report issued by President Trump's Religious Liberty Commission. The Commission's report claims to protect religious liberty. It does the opposite.
The draft report promotes one narrow version of faith, ignores the harm done by Christian nationalism, and dismisses the constitutional separation of church and state. Among its recommendations: rolling back the Johnson Amendment to let houses of worship funnel dark money into political campaigns, allowing religious claims to override civil rights protections, expanding school voucher programs without safeguards for religious minorities, misusing religious freedom claims to weaken patients' access to healthcare, and weaponizing the fight against antisemitism to target other communities.
The Commission gave the public just 15 days, spanning a holiday weekend, to comment on the draft. Rather than actually supporting religious freedom for all, the recommendations issued in the Commission’s draft report reflect its narrow scope. If implemented, this report’s conclusions would undermine the freedom of religious exercise for communities not privileged by the Commission.
Interfaith Alliance urges the Commission to withdraw this draft report and recommit to protecting the religious liberty of all Americans, not just a select few. You can read our full comment here.
P.S. Interfaith Alliance and our partners sued the Commission for violating federal law requiring balanced viewpoints on advisory committees. You can learn more about the case here.
Transcript
Keep Public Funds in Public Schools Act Introduced in the House
This legislation would repeal the federal tax credit voucher program included in H.R.1, an unprecedented program passed into law last year that will redirect federal taxpayer dollars to private and often religious schools, blurring the critical line between church and state.
Faith Communities Stand Up for Inclusive Public Schools
On June 10, the House Education and Workforce Committee held a hearing on K-12 education, calling before them superintendents from school districts across the country. Ahead of the hearing, Interfaith Alliance helped organize a coalition of faith-based and interfaith organizations to submit a letter to the committee in support of inclusive public education. Thanks to Rep. Lucy McBath, that letter was entered into the congressional record.