Free Republic

David Brody and Scott Lamb's latest book, The Faith of Donald J. Trump, A Spiritual Biography, published by Harper Collins, is an absolute joy to read. It chronicles the history of the 45th president’s faith in two parts. The first takes the reader down memory lane, following the footsteps of Trump’s grandparents and parents to understand the cultural and religious influences that shaped his Christian worldview. The second focuses on Trump’s more recent statements about God, faith, forgiveness, and personal relationships with Christian leaders. It details interviews with Trump during and after his successful presidential campaign, controversial statements, and...

Faith is embedded in the history, spirit, and soul of our Nation. On Religious Freedom Day, we celebrate the many faiths that make up our country, and we commemorate the 232nd anniversary of the passing of a State law that has shaped and secured our cherished legacy of religious liberty.Our forefathers, seeking refuge from religious persecution, believed in the eternal truth that freedom is not a gift from the government, but a sacred right from Almighty God. On the coattails of the American Revolution, on January 16, 1786, the Virginia General Assembly passed the Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom. This...

The Justice Department issued legal guidance across the federal government Friday that will shape how the Trump administration interprets religious liberties protections, interpretations expected to come into play in a number of ongoing lawsuits. The memo, issued by Attorney General Jeff Sessions, does not resolve any specific ongoing litigation, but it will serve as a baseline for how the Justice Department will interpret current federal laws such as the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Among 20 principles outlined in the memo, the Justice Department finds that RFRA protections extend not...

The political optics were some of President Trump's best — as he prepared on May 4 to sign an executive order defending freedom of conscience. "With this executive order," Trump told the crowd in the Rose Garden, "we also make clear that the federal government will never, ever penalize any person for their protected religious beliefs." He did not say most of the time or almost always. He said "never, ever." Nor did he say any group or religious order. He said "any person." This was a categorical promise.

It is with optimism and hopeful anticipation that I head out to a meeting President Trump is hosting Thursday for religious leaders. There is a reason for my optimism. Although he doesn't get credit for it, Trump is far more religious than many people realize. In my conversations with pastors who have personally ministered to him, I have been made aware that he's extraordinarily open to the word of God, to the power of prayer, and to growing in the life of the spirit. In other words, he is tuned into the Lord's movement in his life. This is great...

President Donald Trump has increasingly infused references to God into his prepared remarks — calling on God to bless all the world after launching strikes in Syria, asking God to bless the newest Supreme Court justice, invoking the Lord to argue in favor of a war on opioids. He's also taken other steps to further cultivate a Christian right that helped elect him, granting new levels of access to Christian media and pushing socially conservative positions that don't appear to come naturally to him. One of the first interviews Trump sat for as president was with the Christian Broadcasting Network’s...

Watch for yourself how he answers. The Federalist translates it as “God’s Great, But Let’s Talk About My Amazing Business Deals.” I mean this in all sincerity: As an atheist, I respect Trump for not even trying to BS his supporters with a smoothly rehearsed answer about the extent of his Christian devotion. It’d be the easiest thing in the world for him to call up a socially conservative friend and ask for pointers on how he should respond to questions like this to impress evangelicals, then script a tidy 30-second response. He doesn’t even need pointers, really; anyone...