Patriotism, 18th-century essayist Samuel Johnson famously quipped, is the last refuge of a scoundrel. I’ve always believed that an argument could be made for religion as well – only it’s usually not the last refuge but one of the first.
Consider the case of President Donald Trump. His approval ratings are underwater. His economic policies are a disaster. The specter of the Epstein files hangs over him wherever he goes.
This may explain why Trump has been on such a religious tear once again. It’s a standard tactic of distraction. Here’s hoping the American people don’t fall for it.
Yesterday, Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission held yet another biased hearing, this time taking testimony from speakers representing Christian Nationalist organizations that want public schools to promote conservative religious beliefs. Trump and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner also announced the formation of a new initiative to urge Americans to pray in advance of America’s 250th birthday next year.
As Americans United President and CEO Rachel Laser pointed out, this is classic Christian Nationalism. “Once again, President Trump is using religion to promote his self-aggrandizement and political agenda,” Laser observed, “all the while perpetuating the lie that America is a Christian nation and that religion is under attack.”
It’s also a tiresome and offensive political tactic, and Trump and the band of cynics who advise him have perfected it. They don’t want Americans to pay attention to things that matter – can you afford to feed your family, will you have health care next year, are you kids safe in school, etc. – so Trump and his enablers point to things like the fact that transgender people exist and that our public schools are secular and wait for an avalanche of outrage. While we’re distracted over false threats, they continue dismantling our democracy.
In the case of public schools, it’s all built on a house of lies. AU’s David Carter put it succinctly yesterday on our blog: “The First Amendment already protects public school students’ religious freedom. As Americans United explained in comments we submitted to the commission, students can pray or otherwise engage with their faith as long as it’s voluntary, non-disruptive, and student-led. At the same time, public schools must protect the religious freedom of all students, which means students should never feel coerced by school employees or other students to participate in religion.”
Trump, a man who’s biblically illiterate and seems to lack anything like an ethical center (whether it’s anchored in religion or something else), makes for an odd messiah. But Christian Nationalists love him.
That is to be expected. Christian Nationalists long ago traded in their faith for a mess of political pottage.
The rest of America should know better.
President Donald Trump at a White House National Day of Prayer event, May 1, 2025. Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images.
