Since he was sworn into office, Trump has signed a flurry of executive orders. On February 6th, the Whitehouse released a document that promised to end anti-Christian discrimination. He cited the history of the First Amendment and blasted Joe Biden for targeting Christians. The president vowed to start a task force to address this issue.
“It is the policy of the United States, and the purpose of this order, to protect the religious freedoms of Americans and end the anti-Christian weaponization of government,” the document began. “The Founders established a Nation in which people were free to practice their faith without fear of discrimination or retaliation by their government.”
The executive order also explained the legal history of religious freedom in the US. ” The United States Constitution enshrines the fundamental right to religious liberty in the First Amendment. Federal laws like the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993…further prohibit government interference with Americans’ rights to exercise their religion,” it reads. “Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964…prohibits religious discrimination in employment while Federal hate-crime laws prohibit offenses committed due to religious animus.”
Trump’s document also aimed at the Joe Biden administration. It stated, “The previous Administration engaged in an egregious pattern of targeting peaceful Christians while ignoring violent, anti-Christian offenses.” The document explained how “The Biden Department of Justice sought to squelch faith in the public square by bringing Federal criminal charges and obtaining in numerous cases multi-year prison sentences against nearly two dozen peaceful pro-life Christians for praying and demonstrating outside abortion facilities. ”
“Those convicted included a Catholic priest and 75-year-old grandmother, as well as an 87-year-old woman and a father of 11 children who were arrested 18 months after praying and singing hymns outside an abortion facility in Tennessee as a part of a politically motivated prosecution campaign by the Biden Administration,” said Trump. “I rectified this injustice on January 23, 2025, by issuing pardons in these cases. ”
The order continues: “In 2023, a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) memorandum asserted that “radical-traditionalist” Catholics were domestic-terrorism threats and suggested infiltrating Catholic churches as “threat mitigation.” This later-retracted FBI memorandum cited as support evidence propaganda from highly partisan sources.”
Trump explained how this oppression affected Christians in America. “In this atmosphere of anti-Christian government, hostility and vandalism against Christian churches and places of worship surged, with the number of such identified acts in 2023 exceeding by more than eight times the number from 2018,” the Whitehouse said. ” Catholic churches and institutions have been aggressively targeted with hundreds of acts of hostility, violence, and vandalism.”
“My Administration will not tolerate anti-Christian weaponization of government or unlawful conduct targeting Christians. The law protects the freedom of Americans and groups of Americans to practice their faith in peace, and my Administration will enforce the law and protect these freedoms.,” the order concluded. “My Administration will ensure that any unlawful and improper conduct, policies, or practices that target Christians are identified, terminated, and rectified.” The Trump Administration included plans for a task force to look into cases of anti-Christian bias. The attorney general will lead this organization and feature many of Trump’s allies, such as RFK Jr. and Pete Hegseth.