by Nick Gier, Emeritus Professor of Philosophy and Religion, University of Idaho
Idaho State Journal, June 12, 2026
Neither Pagan nor Mohametan nor Jew ought to be excluded from the civil rights of the Commonwealth.
—Thomas Jefferson citing English philosopher John Locke
Mohametans, Jews, Christians of any sect, or atheists would be acceptable workmen.
—George Washington in a 1785 letter
Donald Trump proclaimed a day of prayer on May 17 as part of Freedom 250, not to be confused with the bipartisan America 250. However, Trump had a golf date and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth was too busy with the ill-conceived Iran war to attend. Both sent pre-recorded videos instead.
Is Trump the American Jeroboam?
Trump read a passage from 2 Chronicles 7, a favorite of Christian nationalists. In Christianity Today (May 20), conservative Baptist Russell Moore’s response came quickly: “2 Chronicles 7 is not about religious nationalism but the reverse.” If you read this chapter in context, you will discover that King Solomon was not faithful to God. He built temples for his many wives’ deities, and for this and other sins, God warned Solomon that he would “tear the kingdom away from you” (1 Kings 11:11).
Sure enough, after Solomon’s death the nation was divided into the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah. The northern king Jeroboam set up golden calves for his people to worship. For a would-be king who puts himself and gold above all else, the biblical lesson for Trump is clear.
George Washington and “Cherry Tree Stories”
Here is a portion of Pete Hegseth’s pre-recorded prayer: “Let us pray for our nation on bended knee. And let us ask our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, as Washington did on that momentous day” at Valley Forge in the winter of 1777. This account is fiction and just as his prayer diaries are forgeries. They are in the same category as the cherry tree story.
Washington was never seen kneeling in prayer, not even by his faithful Black personal assistant William Lee. Kneeling was required at Anglican services, but, at his infrequent church visits (ending after retirement), no one ever saw him in that pose. Furthermore, Anglicans at that time knelt to receive Communion, but, again, Washington never took the sacrament and his pastor openly criticized him for it.
In all of Washington’s writings one looks in vain for a mention of the words “Jesus” or “Christ.” In a speech to the Delaware Indians drafted by an aide, one can see, in Washington’s own atrocious handwriting, that the word “God” was scratched out and replaced by “Great Spirit.” His preferred name for deity was “Providence.” For more see nfgier.com/?s=washington.
No Prayer at the Constitutional Convention
As part of his America 250 celebration Trump authorized the publication of a prayer anthology. The text states that because of prayer “debate gave way to compromise, resulting in the final drafting of the United States Constitution.” This must have been private prayer because Ben Franklin’s motion to begin each session with prayer was tabled over objections of several delegates such as Alexander Hamilton, a devout Calvinist and Bible scholar.
Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission
Last year Donald Trump established the Religious Liberty Commission, and he appointed Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick as chair. As he prepared to take on this role, Patrick declared that “there is no such thing as separation of church and state. For too long, the anti-God left has used this phrase to suppress people of religion in our country.” This must mean that confessing Christians on the left (such as William Barber) are anti-God?
Patrick joins many others on the right with this false view. Hegseth once said that the separation of church and state is “leftist folklore,” and Congresswoman Lauren Bobert dismissed Thomas Jefferson’s response to the Connecticut Baptists (see below) as that “stinking letter.” For the persecuted Baptists Jefferson’s missive must have smelled especially sweet.
Baptists and Jefferson Agree
In another column (bit.ly/4egnUT0), I explained that it was the Baptists who insisted on a strict separation of church and state. In early America, Baptists as well as Quakers experienced widespread persecution. Today, Latter Days Saints, Seventh Day Adventists, and other religious minorities continue to praise Thomas Jefferson and James Madison for their foresight.
In a famous letter to the Danbury, Connecticut Baptists on January 1, 1802, Jefferson explained that the First Amendment built “a wall of separation between church and state.” That meant that the Baptists or any other religious or non-religious minority were free to worship as they saw fit.
Is Judeo-Christianity One Religion?
The Religious Liberty Commission has only one Jew and no one else from America’s religious minorities. The phrase Judeo-Christianity originated during the Cold War when the moral common ground between the two was used to battle godless Communism. Most Jews never accepted this phrase because they suspected that, once again, Christianity was perceived as a replacement for Judaism.
Kandiss Taylor, the Republican chair of Georgia’s 1st Congressional District, declared that “we shouldn’t be electing anyone in government who isn’t Christian.” Joel Rigney, associate pastor in Doug Wilson’s Christ Church in Moscow, calls for a 30-year ban immigration so that America can rebuild “a common culture (and) Jesus is the only hope of finding that cultural core.” Does this vision exclude Jews as well as Roman Catholics, Latter Day Saints? See also bit.ly/4o8z8gW.
Antisemitism in the GOP
While mostly focusing on perceived slights against Christianity and attacks against the Jews, the commissioners failed to address antisemitism in the Trump administration and his own party. Politico has recently released 2,900 pages of chats among Young Republicans that “reveal a culture of racist, antisemitic and violent rhetoric.” “I love Hitler” wrote Peter Giunta, chief of staff to New York state Assemblymember Mike Reilly. Giunta referred to a Young Republican Maryland delegate as a “fat stinky Jew.”
In October 2025 investigators at Politico discovered text messages by pro-Trump attorney Paul Ingrassia that revealed that he had a “Nazi streak.” He immediately withdrew his nomination to become head of the Office of Special Counsel. That did not dissuade Trump from appointing him as deputy general counsel of the General Services Administration the next month.
At a Senate hearing, Nevada Senator Jackie Rosen reminded and admonished Pete Hegseth that when he attacks his enemies as “Pharisees,” he is using an antisemitic slur. He was unfazed in response. Hegseth has also been criticized for hiring Kingsley Wilson as the Pentagon’s press secretary. Wilson has a long history of using antisemitic tropes.
The Exclusion of Muslims
The Religious Liberty Commission did have two Muslims on its advisory board, but Sameerah Munshi resigned because she had “witnessed hostility toward Muslims on the panel.” The Commission did not address widespread discrimination against Muslims in the Republican Party.
One blatant example is Pete Hegseth. Witnesses to his drunken rages have reported that he sometimes yells “Kill all Muslims.” Michael Weinstein, President of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, is astonished: “This is totally unprecedented. Hegseth is making it clear that the Iran war is Jesus versus Muhammad.”
Tennessee Congressman Andy Ogles’ post on X that stated that “Muslims don’t belong in American society.” Ogles is just one of many Republicans who believe that the government should be “sharia free,” a fear of American law-abiding Muslim citizens that has no basis in fact.
Hindus Not Welcome Here
At 5.2 million, Indian Americans are the nation’s second largest ethnic minority. They also are the most educated with 33% achieving college degrees and another 40% adding postgraduate diplomas. With these credentials they have excelled in all professions, and they have attained, incredibly enough, a median household income of $152,000.
Conservative Christians have exploded in criticism about a 90-foot statue of the Hindu god Hanuman recently erected at a Hindu temple in Sugar Land, Texas. On X Morgan Ariel, who describes herself as a Christian nationalist and a Lioness for Jesus, posted this message: “I rebuke this demonic filth in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.”
A Hindu, also on X, begged for respect and tolerance: “Lord Hanuman is a symbol of strength, loyalty, devotion, and perseverance. He is worshipped by 15% of the world’s population.” Another responded by stating that “this is hateful against the world’s largest pantheistic community.” Yet another post was similar: “This person disparages the belief of a billion people. It is plain racist and bigoted.” Hinduism is the third largest religion in the world, and it has the longest history of institutionalized belief.
The Republican Party has long touted its commitment to personal freedom, but now it appears that many of them support religious bigotry in its most hateful forms. Their America now stands for religious liberty for Christians only and a rejection of all other religious beliefs.
Let me close with this statement from Richard Henry Lee, a close ally of Thomas Jefferson. He urged the new republic to “recognize the rights of the Mahometan and the Hindu.”
Nick Gier taught religion and philosophy at the University of Idaho for 31 years. He was coordinator of religious studies from 1980 to 2003. He is celebrating 250 years of religious liberty in America (if we can keep it). Read all his articles on this topic at bit.ly/3OPnPwR. Email him at ngier006∂gmail.com.