WATCH: Trump receives report from Religious Liberty Commission in the Oval Office | PBS News

Critics of the Religious Liberty Commission's work say its perspective is skewed toward by favored by Trump and his supporters and that it heard almost entirely from like-minded scholars and activists. They say the commission failed adequately to address such issues as anti-Muslim efforts in Texas and elsewhere, and also the rise of antisemitism on the right, not just the left...

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/watch-trump-receives-report-from-religious-liberty-commission-in-the-oval-office 

Trump’s Religious Liberty Panel Calls Church-State Separation a "Lie"!

At its final meeting, Donald Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission made something clear: this was never about protecting religious freedom—it was about redefining it. 

During the meeting, Chair Dan Patrick pushed the idea that the separation of church and state is a “lie,” echoing a broader effort to dismantle a core constitutional principle. 

The commission itself, created in 2025, has long been criticized for promoting a narrow, Christian-centered vision of “religious liberty,” often excluding other faiths and the nonreligious while elevating conservative evangelical priorities. 

And its policy discussions have consistently focused on expanding religion’s role in public life—especially in schools and government—while challenging long-standing legal protections tied to the Establishment Clause.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9XrVTatFlw

 

The Religious Liberty Commission is Anything But!

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/80QkRD22sCY

 

Permanent Injunction (Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor, Freethought Radio podcast)

After we cover state/church news in Colorado, Kansas, Missouri and Maryland, FFRF attorney Chris Line dissects the so-called “Religious Liberty Commission” and FFRF attorney Nancy Noet tells us about this week’s decision by an Arkansas court permanently enjoining the state from displaying the Ten Commandments in public classrooms.

Interview: 

https://ffrf.org/news/freethought-radio/freethought-today-march-19-2026/

 

MAGA Catholics, Antisemitism & Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission Implosion (Sarah Posner; Reign of Error podcast #005)

On this episode of Reign of Error, investigative journalist Sarah Posner unpacks the implosion of Donald Trump’s White House Religious Liberty Commission after a chaotic hearing at the Museum of the Bible exposed deep fractures inside the MAGA coalition. Former beauty queen and recent Catholic convert Carrie Prejean Boller sparked outrage with antisemitic rhetoric tied to right-wing influencer Candace Owens, igniting a public feud with Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and drawing backlash from conservative Catholics and evangelicals alike. Posner and scholar Matthew J. Cressler explore how debates over Zionism, Christian nationalism, and the phrase “Christ is King” reveal a growing split between traditional religious-right leaders and a digitally fueled Catholic far-right operating in Trump’s social media ecosystem.

The conversation traces how figures like Nick Fuentes, Owens, and other MAGA Catholics deploy antisemitic tropes rooted in older Catholic anti-communist and anti-Jewish traditions, now amplified by online platforms and political patronage. From clashes over Vatican teaching and Christian Zionism to tensions with evangelical allies, this episode examines whether the MAGA movement’s Catholic wing is on a collision course with both the broader GOP and the institutional Church. Plus, in this week’s “Anti-Doom,” Posner highlights a federal court ruling restoring a slavery exhibit removed under Trump’s executive order—an important victory in the ongoing fight over American history and truth.

Matthew J. Cressler, Ph.D. is a writer, independent scholar, and chief of staff of the Corporation for Public Interest Technology. He is the author of Authentically Black and Truly Catholic: The Rise of Black Catholicism in the Great Migrations and creator of Bad Catholics, Good Trouble, the educational webcomic series. He’s written for America, The Atlantic, National Catholic Reporter, The Revealer, Slate, U.S. Catholic, and numerous academic journals. He co-reported the Religion News Service series “Beyond the Most Segregated Hour,” which won a Wilbur Award from the Religion Communicators Council. He has two forthcoming books under contract: the co-authored Body & Blood: Catholic Horror in America, due out from NYU Press this Halloween, and Catholics and the Making of MAGA: How an Immigrant Church Became America’s Law and Order Faith, which is set to be published by HarperCollins in fall 2027.

• Matthew’s professional website (https://matthewjcressler.com/) 
• Matthew’s webcomic website (https://badcatholics-comics.org/).

Many other resources, and hear the Interview:

https://redcircle.com/shows/fbed712f-0027-40af-a33b-fd9de05efc5c/ep/bd06caf5-4852-4a23-9296-f8ebde964637

 

"He Gets Us" Still Doesn't Get It (Hemant Mehta and Jessica Bluemke, The Friendly Atheist podast #622)

— The “He Gets Us” campaign has a PR problem no Super Bowl ad can solve. (1:23)

— Oklahoma finally scraps Bible-heavy, conspiracy-laced Social Studies standards. (22:24)

— Trump’s “Religious Liberty Commission” just got sued for its pro-Christian bias. (36:49)

— Court rules against anti-trans Christian teacher who demanded right to misgender students. (47:23)

— Judge refuses to toss The Satanic Temple’s lawsuit, putting Boston’s flag policy on trial. (57:29)

— South Carolina’s bill to force the Ten Commandments in school is doomed to fail. (1:07:31)
Interview: 

https://friendlyatheistpodcast.com/2026/02/12/he-gets-us-still-doesnt-get-it/

The Religious Liberty Commission failed to represent non-religious voices

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/u9HfvT5brXc

 

SCOTUS Is Primed to Overturn a Landmark Church-State Precedent (Andrew Seidel; One Nation, Indivisible podcast Episode #021)

The Christian Nationalist legal outfits are bringing faith and football back to the Supreme Court. First Liberty Institute is asking the court to overturn a crucial church-state precedent, Santa Fe v. Doe, a 2000 opinion that prevented public schools from broadcasting Christian prayers at football games, thereby safeguarding the religious freedom and rights of every single person. The same Christian Nationalist group that brought the case of the football coach that imposed his Christian prayers on other people’s kids is back at the court. Will the court take the case? And can Brett Kavanaugh even hear this case? Or does his history show a serious bias?

Also, Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission wants to hear from you! “Share your reflections on the first hearing and religious liberty on social media, using our hashtag #ReligiousLibertyCommission. You are welcome to provide public comment to the Commission by emailing us at RLC@usdoj.gov. So if you watched that first meeting, consider sending some feedback.”
Interview: 

https://www.podbean.com/ew/dir-w8t4a-267e4318

“Religion and Morality” What did the founders mean? (Andrew Seidel; One Nation, Indivisible podcast Episode #017)

Andrew tackles Trump’s new Religious Liberty Commission, which had its first meeting at the Museum of the Bible and which focused heavily on the myths of Christian Nationalism, especially what the founders meant when they wrote of “religion and morality.” 

The assault on history continues with an under-the-radar story from NPR about letting the MAGA mob police the history at America’s parks and historic sites. 

Finally, Andrew wraps up with a look at the Southern Baptist Convention / SBC’s resolutions on marriage equality and Obergefell v. Hodges and delves into the question from episode 5: Could this Supreme Court overturn marriage equality? 

• Andrew’s debate with Mark David Hall is here: https://www.c-span.org/program/book-tv/influence-of-christianity-on-americas-founders/532002
• NPR reporting on on the National Park Service’s new signs: https://www.npr.org/2025/06/10/nx-s1-5429773/national-park-service-signs 
• A draft of the SBC resolutions is here: https://sbcannualmeeting.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/2025-SBC-Daily-Bulletin-Tuesday-FINAL.pdf

Interview: 

https://www.podbean.com/ew/dir-hrgh6-260810cd