Rejecting church and state separation is on the wish list for Trump's religious liberty commission
This story raises questions about governance, accountability, and American values.
The coverage treats “separation of church and state” as a simple off switch for faith in public life. That framing makes it sound as if any pushback is a theocratic plot, rather than a debate about how the First Amendment is actually applied. What’s missing is the way modern government often uses “separation” as a cudgel to scrub religion from civic space while granting plenty of room for every other worldview.
New Republican Times Editorial Board
President Donald Trump's Religious Liberty Commission is preparing to make recommendations after more than a year of hearings. Commissioners have spoken about their wish lists for what they want to see in the report.
They reflect the perspectives of the
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New Republican Times Editorial Board
The coverage treats “separation of church and state” as a simple off switch for faith in public life. That framing makes it sound as if any pushback is a theocratic plot, rather than a debate about how the First Amendment is actually applied.
What’s missing is the way modern government often uses “separation” as a cudgel to scrub religion from civic space while granting plenty of room for every other worldview. Conservatives aren’t asking for state-run churches. They’re asking that religious liberty mean something beyond private worship, and that public officials not treat faith as a disqualifier in education, charities, or local governance.
A serious commission should focus on equal protection under the law, public trust, and institutional stability, not symbolic fights. The principle at stake is whether the state remains neutral toward religion, or quietly hostile to it.
Commentary written with AI assistance by the New Republican Times Editorial Board.