Surrender of the Public Square to the World: The Trump Commission’s War Against the Kingship of Christ
The draft report of the Religious Liberty Commission, presented to President Donald Trump on June 26, 2026, proposes replacing the American constitutional framework of “separation of church and state” with a model of “bridges” between the two spheres. The 224‑page document, shaped almost entirely by conservative Christians—including Catholic figures such as Bishop Robert Barron and Cardinal Timothy Dolan—advocates a broad expansion of religious expression in government, schools, and public funding. It calls for eliminating the Johnson Amendment, compensating military personnel discharged for refusing COVID‑19 vaccines, and creating new state‑sponsored honors like a Presidential Medal of Religious Liberty. The report applauds recent Supreme Court decisions permitting public school coaches’ prayers and religious opt‑outs from lessons on gender ideology, while accusing the Biden administration of a “reign of persecution” against Christians. Critics, including the Interfaith Alliance, allege the commission lacks ideological diversity and ignores Islamophobia, while downplaying right‑wing antisemitism. The report’s philosophical core is a redefinition of religious liberty not as freedom from coercion but as the right to impose biblical morality on public policy—a direct assault on the Catholic doctrine of the social reign of Christ the King and the spiritual independence of the Church.
