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The “open season” on Christians in America just came to a screeching halt with Trump’s executive order on “Eradicating Anti-Christian Bias” in the federal government.
It’s been “open season” on Christians in America for far too long. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: There is no group more discriminated against and actively persecuted in our nation than Bible-believing evangelicals. Vice President J.D. Vance agrees: “All over the world, Christians are the most persecuted religious group.”
The very people who laid the moral and physical foundations of this nation have been under relentless attack from the Left for decades. Consider Jack Phillips, the Colorado baker who, for adhering to his faith, faced a legal ordeal that spanned years and multiple court battles just for declining to make a custom cake for a same-sex wedding. His 12-year saga perfectly exemplifies how, when the Left gets power, Christian businesses are expected to bend to the will of progressive ideologies or face ruin.
Or take The Little Sisters of the Poor, a Catholic charity. They were aggressively bullied by the Obama Administration (read: sued for years) because these (checks notes) Catholic nuns righteously refused to provide abortion pill coverage in their health plans.
Pro-life activists, exercising their First Amendment rights, have been prosecuted like common criminals. Remember the arrests in Washington, D.C., of peaceful, praying protesters, including multiple grandmothers? The Biden administration maliciously charged them under the FACE Act for blocking access to abortion clinics and, by dusting off and leveraging an 1870s conspiracy charge used against the KKK, tried to put them behind bars for years (thankfully, Trump has pardoned them).
Then there’s the alarming FBI memo suggesting traditional Catholics could be domestic terrorists, advocating for surveillance in parishes. And that’s not speculation; it’s a documented case of profiling based on faith.
And in the military, where one would expect unity, Christian soldiers have been sidelined or criticized for their beliefs at best and labeled as possible “domestic extremists” at worst. It’s even been revealed that the Idaho National Guard has a policy preventing Christians from holding command positions, a clear breach of religious liberty.
The message from the anti-Christian Left is clear: Their new religion of “gay race communism” trumps the historic Christian faith of our founding.
But that all ends now.
President Donald Trump, recognizing this egregious assault on Christian values, this week signed a new Executive Order entitled, “Eradicating Anti-Christian Bias” — a pivotal moment for Christian religious freedom in America and the fulfillment of a campaign promise.
The order states:
“It is the policy of the United States, and the purpose of this order, to protect the religious freedoms of Americans and end the anti-Christian weaponization of government.”
It continues on, explaining that “Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended (42 U.S.C. 2000e et seq.), prohibits religious discrimination in employment while Federal hate-crime laws prohibit offenses committed due to religious animus.”
Despite these protections and the First Amendment, the order notes, “the previous Administration engaged in an egregious pattern of targeting peaceful Christians while ignoring violent, anti-Christian offenses.”
The E.O. goes on to establish a “Task Force on Eradicating Anti-Christian Bias” within the Department of Justice, which will be led by new U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi. This task force is charged with investigating and addressing any “unlawful and improper conduct, policies, or practices that target Christians” and ending “all forms of anti-Christian targeting and discrimination within the federal government,” including at the DOJ, the IRS, the FBI, and other agencies.
The order commits to protecting Christians in schools, the military, government workplaces, hospitals, and public squares. It promises to “bring our country back together as one nation under God,” directly countering the secular assaults on Christian expression and practice.
This is a remarkable action. It’s desperately needed and long overdue. The symbolism is as powerful as the policy: It’s a pledge to defend the bedrock of American society — the Christian faith.
The irony here is rich. Really rich. While Trump stands as a bulwark against the onslaught of the anti-Christian Left, some within the “conservative evangelical” community, like David French, Russell Moore, and Ray Ortlund, along with groups like Evangelicals for Harris, spent the last many years telling Christians not to vote for Trump because he wasn’t truly “conservative,” “pro-life,” etc.
If that’s not bad enough, they actively misled their flocks and followers down the dark path of encouraging Christians to vote for Kamala Harris, arguably the most anti-Christian candidate in American political history.
Ray Ortlund even said, “Never Trump. This Time, Harris. Always Jesus.” Thank God we didn’t listen to him because if it had been Harris “this time,” Christians wouldn’t have been free to proclaim “Always Jesus” for much longer in America.
Despite their best subversive efforts, this time we got Trump (again). And Trump is going to defend the religious freedom of these Regime Evangelicals whether they want him to or not.
This executive order is the utter vindication of all those many Christians who supported Trump, proving that figures like French and Moore were not just misguided but actively working against the interests of their faith.
The subversives have been hoisted on their own petards. They are being shamed by Trump for all to see, as he governs as a “better Christian in the public square” than the lot of them combined.
Trump’s actions also recall historical figures who used their positions of power to defend or facilitate the growth of Christianity: Cyrus, Nebuchadnezzar, and Constantine. (Buckle up, this is the part where some “exvangelicals” are going to get really mad).
First, consider King Cyrus of Persia. In the book of Ezra, we learn that God chose him to end the Babylonian captivity, allowing the Jews to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple. His decree stated, “The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah.” Trump, in his own way, has enabled Christians to reclaim their place in American society, reversing policies that sought to marginalize and imprison us.
Next, take King Nebuchadnezzar. After his divine humbling and subsequent conversion (Daniel 4), he acknowledged God’s sovereignty, decreeing, “I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways are just.” While this executive order doesn’t include such a theologically rich exaltation of the One True God as Lord of all, Trump’s acknowledgment of the crucial importance of the Christian faith in America reminds us that rulers — of any kind — can be used by God to bless His people.
Finally, look back at Emperor Constantine. When Constantine issued the Edict of Milan in 313 A.D., he not only ended the persecution of Christians but also laid the groundwork for Christianity to become the dominant religion of the Roman Empire. His actions were pivotal in spreading Christianity. Trump’s executive order similarly shifts the legal and cultural landscape to favor the free practice of Christianity, ensuring that our faith is not just tolerated but celebrated.
In a period when the Left is hellbent on erasing every last bit of Christian influence from America, Donald Trump has emerged as a modern-day “Defender of the Faith.”
And so for Christians in America, this is not just a victory; it’s a call to reclaim the moral and spiritual high ground in our society. As we read in Isaiah 45:13, “I will raise up Cyrus in my righteousness: I will make all his ways straight. He will rebuild my city and set my exiles free, but not for a price or reward, says the LORD Almighty.”
Trump, in his unique way, has been raised up to do just that for the Christian community in America. This is a gift. It’s a blessing. We should use it to press forth from the pews and back into the public square, proclaiming the Lordship of Christ over every inch of our nation.
Evangelicals for Harris are, as they say, “hardest hit.”
Photo: President Donald J. Trump bows his head as evangelist Franklin Graham delivers the invocation during the inauguration ceremony in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda, January 20, 2025. Credit: AP Images
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