MaddowBlog-Trump's Religious Liberty Commission takes aim at the separation of church and state

[LetMyPeopleVote]

Dan Patrick is an idiot who could not get into law school. I testified before Patrick on redistricting a very long time ago and watching his face it was clear that he had no clue as to the issues. The separation of church and state are bedrock principles of the First Amendment. I am Jewish and I have a good number of friends/precinct chairs who are Muslim. What will be the rights of non-christians if trump and Patrick get their way? trump, Vance and Patrick are playing to a group of religious nut cases. Vance's wife is not a Christian and many of trump's and Patrick's followers do not really believe that Catholics are truly christian.

If the White House’s panel wants to flaunt its opposition to the First Amendment, it should be prepared to offer its proposal for what should come next.

If the White House’s so-called Religious Liberty Commission wants to explicitly reject the separation of church and state, certain questions are unavoidable:

What’s their alternative to the First Amendment? If the government won’t be neutral on religion, what comes next?
www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2026-04-14T19:06:53.638Z

https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trumps-religious-liberty-commission-takes-aim-at-the-separation-of-church-and-state

If it seems as if Team Trump and its allies are opposed to the separation of church and state, it’s probably because it’s been quite explicit in its rejection of the constitutional principle. My MS NOW colleague Ja’han Jones highlighted the final hearing of the White House’s Religious Liberty Commission, which didn’t appear focused on religious liberty.

To give you a sense of the tone, the commission’s chairman, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, went on a rant calling the separation of church and state ‘the biggest lie that’s been told in America since our founding.’ Each speaker after him parroted a similar line, framing liberals as some kind of threat to free religious expression.

....The separation of church and state, however, is not a “lie”; it’s a bedrock principle of our system of government. In fact, I’d refer Patrick to the First Amendment, which states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”

According to Thomas Jefferson, those 16 words created a “wall of separation between church and state” — and he’s a bit more credible in this area than the Texas Republican.

But taking this one step further, the question for Trump’s commission members is simple: If Patrick and other Republican officials reject the idea of church-state separation, and want to excise the principle from our legal system, what exactly is their alternative?

If GOP policymakers are against the idea of government neutrality on matters of faith, it’s incumbent on them to elaborate on their preferred model. Do they envision a theocracy along the lines of Iran? Do they support a governmental system in which politicians base policy decisions on their interpretations of religious doctrines? Should those who are not religious or are members of minority traditions expect to be penalized by their own government?

These need not be rhetorical questions. If the White House’s so-called Religious Liberty Commission wants to flaunt its opposition to the First Amendment, it should be prepared to offer its proposal for what should come next.

These assholes scare me. I would like to know what comes next is these assholes get their way

[wcmagumba]

1. This is so wrong to be taking place...I'm a non-believer, what about my effing rights?

I don't like or want your religion forced down my throat...Please take your beliefs and go away...

[tanyev]

2. Hell, even in Protestant Christianity there are endless denominations with different beliefs.

This is WHY democracies came to embrace the separation of church and state. If a state Christianity is established, then the religious wars begin. Many of the early immigrants that came to this country came because they did not support the state religion where they lived.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

3. Before I converted, my father's family and my god mother was Luthern but my mom/maternal grandmother were Methodist

I was confirmed as a Methodist and my god mother was very unhappy. In some ways, my god mother seemed a little happier when I converted to Judaism. This was after each of my kids did their bar and bat mitzvahs and showed how they fit into our faith.