WASHINGTON – The Religious Liberty Commission hosted President Donald J. Trump, Attorney General Pamela Bondi, parents, and students at a hearing focused on religious liberty in public education.
The hearing included several panels where students and parents shared experiences of challenges to their religious freedoms. The event’s stated objective was to examine the historic foundation of religious liberty in schools, identify current threats, and explore strategies to preserve these freedoms for future generations.
“Under the Trump Administration, we’re defending our rights and restoring our identity as a nation under God,” Trump said. “We are one nation under God, and we always will be.”
Bondi highlighted the constitutional protections of worship. “Our Founders believed every individual has the right to worship freely—without fear, without censorship, and without hostility from their own government,” she said. “Under President Trump’s leadership, this Department of Justice has returned to its core purpose: defending the Constitution and protecting the God-given rights of every single American.”
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick of Texas, who chairs the Religious Liberty Commission, described Trump’s remarks as historic. “No President since our nation’s foundation has put faith and freedom at the forefront of his entire agenda,” Patrick said.
Witnesses included students, parents, and legal advocates. Testimonies ranged from a California student, Shea Encinas, who objected to reading material on transgender topics, to Mississippi student Lydia Booth, who successfully sued after being prohibited from wearing a “Jesus loves me” mask. Other testimonies involved prayer restrictions in Texas, speech censorship in North Carolina, and lawsuits in Michigan, Maryland, and New York over school policies affecting religious expression.
Legal experts such as Jeremy Dys of First Liberty Institute, Alyza Lewin of the Brandeis Center, David Cortman of Alliance Defending Freedom, and Kimberlee Colby of the Christian Legal Society provided additional context on constitutional protections and litigation outcomes.
The Religious Liberty Commission, established under Executive Order 14291, is tasked with producing a comprehensive report on religious liberty in America, highlighting current threats, and developing strategies to preserve protections for future generations.
