President Donald Trump announced that the Department of Education will issue new guidance protecting the right to prayer in public schools.
“To have a great nation, you have to have religion,” Trump said at the second meeting of the Religious Liberty Commission at the Museum of the Bible Monday morning.
Trump honored students whose religious liberties had reportedly been violated at public school.
A young boy named Shane spoke about being required to read a book about transgender ideology at school. His parents complained, and the boy was bullied at school.
“I believe kids like me should be able to live our faith at school without being forced to go against what we believe,” he said. “I hope no other family has to go through what mine did.”
He also honored a high schooler named Hannah who was punished for praying at school for an injured classmate.
“Free exercise of religion is a founding principle and a constitutionally protected right afforded to all citizens of our great nation,” Education Department press secretary Savannah Newhouse said in a statement. “The Department of Education looks forward to supporting President Trump’s vision to promote religious liberty in our schools across the country.”
Trump also slammed Sen. Tim Kaine for his comments last week that rights come from government, rather than God.
“The ineffectual senator from Virginia, man named Tim Kaine, stated that the notion our rights come from our creator is, quote, ‘extremely troubling to him,’” Trump said.
“But as everyone in this room understands, it is tyrants who are denying our rights and the rights that come from God, and it’s this Declaration of Independence that proclaims we’re endowed by our creator with the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” the president added. “The senator from Virginia should be ashamed of himself.”
Trump invited Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner to take the stage. He announced the administration’s new “America Prays” initiative, which calls on Americans to dedicate time every week to pray for the country.
“What if believers all across this great nation got together with 10 people, friends, family members, colleagues, work associates, 10 people each week to pray for our country and for our fellow citizens?” Turner said.
Turner invited all Americans to pray for the renewal of the country.
“Think about the miracles that would take place over the next year,” he continued. “Think about the transformation that you and I could witness in communities all across the land: sons returning to their fathers, daughters returning to their mothers, families coming back together, health being restored, financial needs being met, mountains being moved.
After the president left the event, several children punished for religious expression gave their testimonies, including a girl who was prohibited from wearing a face mask with the phrase “Jesus Loves Me” on it when she was in third grade. Represented by Alliance Defending Freedom, Lydia Booth’s family sued the school district and won.
“It was intimidating at times facing that harassment,” Booth said at the event. “But I’ve come to know that doing the right thing isn’t always easy…and God can use even something as small as my mask to help ensure our amazing country remains free.”
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