‘Religion’s back’: Trump touts his religious freedom efforts at prayer breakfast
President Donald Trump said he has done “more for religion than any other president,” and touted himself as a champion of religious freedom in the United States at a National Prayer Breakfast Thursday morning.
“Religion’s back now, hotter than ever before,” Trump said at the 74th annual National Prayer Breakfast, a bipartisan event that dates back decades.
It was Trump’s sixth appearance at the National Prayer Breakfast, which was co-chaired by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., and Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan. and typically draws hundreds of lawmakers, business leaders, state officials and foreign dignitaries.
For more than an hour, Trump spoke about his faith-friendly policies, including his creation of a task force to “eradicate anti-Christian bias,” as well as the White House Faith Office, which was launched nearly a year ago, and was tasked with reaching out to faith-based groups, community organizations and houses of worship.
He spoke about repealing the Johnson Amendment (though the federal law is still in effect), and took credit for higher membership levels at churches across the country.
“I’ve done more for religion than any other president. But that’s not saying much because not too many presidents have done too much,” Trump said, later adding that he was referring to “modern day” presidents.
Trump also took the opportunity to bash the Democratic Party for being “against” religion and touched on hot button issues like transgender bathrooms and the ICE protests in Minnesota.
“I don’t know how a person of faith can vote for a Democrat. And I know we have some here today. I don’t know why they’re here,” he said.
Weaving in and out of anecdotes about his own accomplishments and challenges passing certain pieces of legislation — like the controversial voter ID bill — Trump spoke at length about his military achievements, international peace efforts, and the importance of centering Christian beliefs in America.
“Some major politicians refuse to say the word God. They don’t want to say it. I say it ... we are endowed with our sacred rights to life, liberty and not by government, but by God Almighty himself,” Trump said.
Trump also announced that the Department of Education will be issuing new guidance on protecting prayer in public schools. The guidance reiterates constitutionally protected rights to prayer and religious expression in public schools.
The guidance says that school officials “should allow members of the public school community to act and speak according to their faith, as long as: They respect the rights of others; The school itself does not engage in religious activities or speech as an institution; and The school does not favor secular views over religious ones or one religion over another.”
Faith groups disagree
Several faith advocacy groups were quick to denounce the president’s remarks, particularly the divisive tone of his speech at an event that has historically been used to foster unity and promote religious pluralism.
“Faith in America has never belonged to one party — and it never will,” Interfaith Alliance president and CEO Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush wrote in an email to the Miami Herald. “It’s outrageous for President Trump to claim that only those who support him and his party can be true people of faith.”
Raushenbush, a Baptist minister who now advocates for religious freedom, said that while Trump claims to champion religion, he has also persecuted faith leaders and communities that don’t align with his views. He pointed to moments like Trump’s biting remarks toward Bishop Marianne Budde, an Episcopal faith leader who advocated for compassionate policies towards all Americans, as well as Trump’s “Muslim ban” and recent arrests of faith leaders who are showing up to immigration protests.
Americans United for Separation of Church and State president and CEO Rachel Laser called the president’s remarks a “gross corruption of religious freedom.”
In a statement, Laser said that the Trump administration appeared to be “attacking church-state separation, a pillar of American democracy, to advance a Christian Nationalist agenda of imposing one narrow set of beliefs on everyone.”
Laser also said that Trump’s claim about getting rid of the Johnson Amendment was incorrect.
The 1954 measure, named after its author former President Lyndon B. Johnson, restricts religious institutions and other tax-exempt nonprofits from endorsing political candidates and donating to partisan campaigns.
Last year, the IRS proposed settling a lawsuit brought by the National Religious Broadcasters, an evangelical Christian media group, and two Texas churches that challenged a ban on most nonprofits from endorsing political candidates in elections. The proposed settlement agreement, which is still pending in court, would apply specifically to plaintiffs in the lawsuit, not all other nonprofits.
While most Americans, according to multiple public opinion polls, want to keep politics out of the pulpit, many conservative Christian groups, including the ones named in last year’s lawsuit, have been pushing for more freedom for faith leaders to voice opinions — a view repeatedly advocated by Trump throughout his time in office.
The president was introduced by the senior advisor of the White House Faith Office — which Trump created last year — Pastor Paula White-Cain, who painted Trump as the most accomplished president in terms of “protecting religious liberty” as well as a quiet supporter of vulnerable populations — which is a core principle of the Christian faith.
“Scripture commands us to care for the widow and the orphan, to defend the poor and to love mercy. I’ve seen this president live that out quietly time and time again through actions, not just words,” White-Cain said.
This story was produced with financial support from Trish and Dan Bell and donors in South Florida’s Jewish and Muslim communities, including Khalid and Diana Mirza and the Mohsin and Fauzia Jaffer Foundation, in partnership with Journalism Funding Partners. The Miami Herald maintains full editorial control of this work.
This story was originally published February 5, 2026 at 6:46 PM with the headline "‘Religion’s back’: Trump touts his religious freedom efforts at prayer breakfast."
