The establishment clause within the First Amendment states “congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.” This means schools, government and any federal entity cannot establish or promote an official religion.
Like many things within the constitution, this sentiment becomes entirely unimportant to President Donald Trump. Within his administration, the division of church and state on which the country has been built is merely a suggestion.
The president has vowed to protect public prayer in schools and encourages Americans to gather in groups of 10 to hold weekly prayers. He even went so far to say that “America has always believed in the power of prayer. And we will never apologize for our faith. Never ever,” according to the Washington Post. While there is nothing inherently wrong with the expression of religious beliefs, Trump, as president, is endowed with certain responsibilities concerning religious freedom.
The encouragement of public prayer in federal places, like schools, is in violation of the establishment clause of the First Amendment as well as the idea of separation of church and state. This ideology derives from early American thought among figures including Roger Williams, who advocated for the “wall of separation” between government and religion in order to protect religious freedom for Catholics and Protestants alike.This idea has been carried into many other endeavors of the political system within the U.S. In contemporary society, this ideology protects people of all religions to feel respected and comfortable in federal spaces.
For Trump to push Christianity is, “an escalation of the White House’s increasing fervor for Christianity,” which is completely inappropriate and breaks down the very foundation this country is built upon. That very saying was curated with the christian God in mind, and Trump is very aware of that. There is not and has never been one religion that a president should be encouraging citizens to adhere to. Because although he does not technically mention Christianity, he goes on to say that “there has to be something after we go through all of this, and that something is God.” It is incredibly doubtful he is including any other God than the one he ‘believes’ in because he pushed for eradicating anti-Christian bias, failing to mention the other religious American citizens follow. The vast majority of Trump voters are not members of religions other than christianity: only 21% of Jewish Americans, and 33% of Americans of other religions voted for Trump in the 2024 election, according to PRRI, and so he has no political gain in advocating for public prayer within groups outside of christians.
The president claims this initiative is to ‘unite’ Americans through prayer. But, it can only possibly do the opposite. The intense polarization of the current political state is not going to be magically solved by encouraging the prayer practices of a single religion. It creates even more division as it completely places those that subscribe to other religions as outsiders.
Again, even if Trump does not specifically mention Christianity in this, yet another, constitution-destroying endeavor, it is undeniable that it is intrinsically implied. If he truly wanted to unite the American people, he would do it in a way that included everyone. Not everyone prays and not everyone should have to, especially in the “land of the free.”
Not only is this initiative entirely unconstitutional, but it is incredibly hypocritical coming from Trump. This man did not even swear on the bible when he was sworn in as president, he has 34 felony convictions, cheated on his pregnant wife and countless other insane acts that go against the religion he is preaching so heavily. He expects the American people to listen to his unethical, criminal and horrible self in preaching the Bible. Frankly, it’s truly ridiculous.
This is obviously just another desperate ploy to retain the support of the Christian Republican vote. He is playing to his audience, like he always does, and in doing so continues to break down constitutional foundations within the United States. It is not as jarring as it should be, which proves to be a lot scarier than the act itself.
Anika Flores is a Freshman majoring in English on a pre-law track. Do you agree that Trump's actions are violating the separation of church and state? Send all comments to opinion@dailycardinal.com
