WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - President Donald Trump has signed an Executive Order establishing a Religious Liberty Commission to safeguard and promote the United States' founding principle of religious freedom.
The Commission will be comprised of a Chairman and Vice Chairman designated by the President, ex officio government officials, and additional members from diverse religious and professional backgrounds, including clergy, legal experts, academics, and public advocates.
The Commission is tasked with producing a comprehensive report on the foundations of religious liberty in the United States, strategies to increase awareness of and celebrate peaceful religious pluralism, current threats to religious liberty, and strategies to preserve and enhance protections for future generations.
Key focus areas include parental rights in religious education, school choice, conscience protections, attacks on houses of worship, free speech for religious entities, and institutional autonomy.
The Commission will advise the White House Faith Office and the Domestic Policy Council on religious-liberty policies and recommend executive or legislative actions to protect these freedoms.
Advisory boards of religious leaders, lay leaders, and legal experts will provide specialized guidance as subcomponents of the commission.
The White House said President Trump is establishing the Religious Liberty Commission to address emerging threats to religious liberty to ensure Americans can freely practice their faith without government interference.
It noted that recent Federal and State policies have undermined the fundamental right to religious liberty by targeting conscience protections, preventing parents from sending their children to religious schools, threatening funding and non-profit status for faith-based entities, and excluding religious groups from government programs.
The White House accused the Biden administration's Department of Justice of targeting peaceful Christians while ignoring violent, anti-Christian offenses.
This Commission will investigate and recommend policies to restore and safeguard religious liberty for all Americans, it added.
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