President Donald Trump announced in January new federal guidelines to protect the constitutional right to pray in public schools. His action, which centers on the Department of Education, reaffirms the religious freedom for students and teachers to pray and to conduct Bible studies and prayer meetings at school. These rights eroded over the past 18 years, most significantly during the previous administration.
The White House revealed this new action on Religious Freedom Day, an annual event on January 16 to mark America’s long history of protecting religious liberty.
President Trump emphasized the importance of this decision at a January rally attended by evangelical leaders. “A society without religion cannot prosper. A nation without faith cannot endure, because justice, goodness, and peace cannot prevail without the glory of Almighty God,” he said. “For America to thrive in the twenty-first century we must renew faith and family as the center of American life.”
David Kubal, president of Intercessors for America, says, “It is exciting to see this kind of bold action from a president.” Many people thought that the topic of restoring our eroding religious freedoms was too hot to touch, Kubal says. “President Trump is not afraid to do the hard things that many Americans want and need to be done. Many young people have grown up in the environment of only knowing a religiously hostile public school system, hiding to pray with friends, or taking their Christian groups outside of school after too many restrictions. I am thankful that President Trump took action to protect religious freedom, bringing things back into alignment with our Constitution.”
–Adapted from Intercessors for America “Headline Prayer”.
