Facts Over Fear: Separation of church and state or nah?
With the dismantling of DEI, it was only a matter of time before the rise of the white Christian nationalist took hold. (And we have the tech bros to thank).
(Photo from AP News)
Trump has found Jesus so now we all have to become Christians, I guess?
Let’s dig in.
According to the AP: President Donald Trump said Thursday that he wants to root out “anti-Christian bias” in the U.S., announcing that he was forming a task force led by Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate the “targeting” of Christians. Speaking at a pair of events in Washington surrounding the National Prayer Breakfast, Trump said the task force would be directed to “immediately halt all forms of anti-Christian targeting and discrimination within the federal government, including at the DOJ, which was absolutely terrible, the IRS, the FBI — terrible — and other agencies.”
Trump said Bondi would also work to “fully prosecute anti-Christian violence and vandalism in our society and to move heaven and earth to defend the rights of Christians and religious believers nationwide.”
There’s so much to unpack here. Let’s start with the pesky Constitution. You know, the thing that Republicans love to parade around when it suits them and love to toss to the side when it doesn’t fit their current narrative.
The First Amendment of the United States Constitution protects freedom of religion through the Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise Clause.
Establishment Clause:
Prevents the government from establishing a state religion
Historically, this meant prohibiting state-sponsored churches
The Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971) test is used to determine if a law violates the Establishment Clause
Free Exercise Clause:
Protects the right of citizens to practice their chosen religion as they choose
This right is limited if the practice goes against public morals or a compelling government interest
Wondering what Lemon v. Kurtzman was? Me, too. In simple terms as it pertained to Lemon v. Kurtzman, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Pennsylvania and Rhode Island statutes providing a taxpayer-funded salary supplement to parochial school teachers violated the First Amendment's Establishment Clause.
Okay, so it seems at first glance that the way in which we uphold this Amendment is through a separation of church and state. But in actuality, religion is a part of American society whether you practice a belief system or not. Most of us have some kind of religious indoctrination or conviction that informs how we move in the world. If our government, which is (supposedly) “Of the people, by the people and or the people,” and the people are religious by nature, can they really be separated?
What if we interpret this first clause of the First Amendment in another way? Instead of separation, isn’t it really about religious inclusion? Americans can choose to worship any deity they choose or they don’t have to partake in any religious beliefs at all. Historically, we’ve upheld that inclusivity through several rulings like Engel v. Vitale (1962) where the Supreme Court decided that government-imposed prayer in public schools was unconstitutional. In 1992, the Supreme Court ruled that prayer established by a school principal was unconstitutional through Lee v. Weisman.
So if we look at religious freedom in the context of inclusion rather than exclusion, it would make more sense as to why we don’t put one religion on a pedestal. But that’s not how things are playing out right now, especially when we look at white Christian nationalists who have risen to high positions of authority within the Republican Party, like Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, as well as several members of SCOTUS like Justice Amy Coney Barrett and Justice Samuel Alito.
Not only do they rebuff a separation of church and state, they want them merged, right out of the pages of Project 2025.
Case in point: in order to make Christian beliefs the central focus in American lives, North Dakota is working to pass House Concurrent Resolution 3020, which, if it were to pass, resolves that “North Dakota would acknowledge the Kingship of Jesus Christ over all the world so that this great state may at last receive the great blessings of real liberty, well-ordered discipline, peace and harmony.”
So we’ve got a choice to make, America. Are we the land of the free, or nah? Because accepting a state-mandated Christian fundamentalist way of being comes with consequences to everything, including our education system.
There’s a reason they want to shut down the Department of Education. The Heritage Foundation wants to push “fertility values” onto our children. The draconian abortion laws are just the beginning of keeping her barefoot and pregnant. They want to encourage young girls not to pursue college and make it harder to get into college by cutting grants and scholarships. Our daughters deserve so much better than this.
But don’t think the Christian nationalists have acted alone. They’ve teamed up with tech fascists, as well, a necessary alliance in order to dismantle our democracy in plain sight. They literally wrote a playbook on this and then denied it. Enough people believed them and now, with Trump back in power, they’ve sprung into action.
The Psychotic Plan (just some highlights):
Crash the economy using tariffs and budget cuts that destroy whatever is left of public services
Turn the U.S. Treasury into their own piggy bank (thanks, Elon!)
Permanent taxes for the rich
Control the media by suing anyone into silence
Purge the military (Hegseth will be instrumental for this) and control law enforcement
Throw people off healthcare (already happening due to these budget freezes) and confuse people through a lack of federal health communications
Seize control of future elections (which is why Federal Election Commission, Democrat Ellen Weintraub must be protected at all costs)
…And perhaps most importantly, create a villain. Who? Anyone that falls under DEI. That’s right, immigrants, trans people, women, Black and brown communities, disabled populations, non-Christians…the list goes on and on.
And women, the largest benefactors of DEI, need to know what it does for them. These policies created paid parental leave, on-site childcare facilities, fertility benefits and time off for pregnancy. It required lactation room access, breast milk storage and pumping time. There were efforts towards pay transparency and equity, along with company goals to advance women of color, members of the LGBTQ+ community and disabled women in the workplace. Fellowships were designed to recruit more women into academia and businesses. Contracts were given to women-owned businesses like Target (who is no longer promoting DEI policies) that put Black women’s brands on shelves. (Source: The Skimm).
We must stand against this any way that we can. A society that recognizes the importance of equity is a prosperous and healthy one. And right now, we are sick. America is dying. And who will save her, if not us?