An atheist activist organization has accused President Trump of trying to use his newly appointed Religious Liberty Commission to enforce “religious control,” describing the group of faith leaders and their proposed influence on public policy as “dangerous” and urging Congress to reject the initiative.
For context, in an article released by the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) on May 2, 2025, the organization argued that the Presidential Commission on Religious Liberty, a group of religious leaders selected by the president to preserve the freedom of religion in the United States, needed to be disbanded. The Commission, which was announced on May 1, 2025, includes notable Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish figures such as Bishop Robert Barron and Pastor Paula White.
In their statement, the FFRF accused multiple members of the Commission of being “outspoken Christian Nationalists,” including Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Dr. Ben Carson. Furthermore, the organization criticized the Commission for being “birthed by prayer,” going on to say that Lt. Gov. Patrick had “falsely accused the Biden administration of targeting believers.”
Responding to the announcement of the Commission, FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor, who is married to Co-President Dan Barker, wrote, “Let’s be absolutely clear: This commission is not about religious liberty — it’s about religious privilege. The First Amendment already protects the rights of believers. What this commission aims to do is weaponize religion to justify discrimination and override civil rights.”
In addition, Gaylor asserted that when President Trump said he would “bring religion back” during his speech announcing the formation of the Commission, he was using “theocratic language.” Gaylor went on to say, “When the president calls for pastors in the White House and says religion should shape national policy, he’s rejecting the secular principles our government is founded on.”
Furthermore, Dan Barker, a self-proclaimed ex-Christian who was previously an evangelical pastor for 19 years, said the Commission was “a constitutional crisis,” adding that its goal was “to embed a specific religious perspective into our laws and institutions.” Barker added, “That’s not freedom, that’s theocracy.”
On the other hand, Bishop Robert Barron, one of the members of the Commission, gave an alternative perspective in an X post from May 1, 2025, saying that he saw his task as “bringing the perspective of Catholic social teaching to bear as the Commission endeavors to shape public policy in this matter.” Likewise, Lt. Gov. Patrick stated that the purpose of the Commission was to “preserve and strengthen religious liberty in our country.”
A White House briefing from May 1, 2025, confirmed that the full list of faith leaders serving on the Religious Liberty Commission is Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick (Chair), Dr. Ben Carson (Vice Chair), Ryan T. Anderson, Bishop Robert Barron, Carrie Prejean Boller, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Pastor Franklin Graham, Allyson Ho, Dr. Phil McGraw, Eric Metaxas, Kelly Shackleford, Rabbi Meir Soloveichik, and Pastor Paula White.
Watch Bishop Barron pray at the White House on May 1, 2025:
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video