The Trump administration's attacks on religious liberty

At the National Prayer Breakfast on Thursday, Trump said that "If we don't have religious liberty, then we don't have a free country." If he actually believes that (I have my doubts), then he might want to check in with his own people who are viscously attacking various religious groups - most of whom fall under the banner of being Christian.

We can start with the big one in the news lately. Our shadow president has called USAID "a viper’s nest of radical-left marxists who hate America,” “evil” and “a criminal organization.” But here's how it's described by Christianity Today:

Most of USAID’s budget goes to grants for specific development projects, including at Samaritan’s Purse, World Vision, World Relief, Catholic Relief Services, and many other faith-based groups...

“The total closure of USAID would cause irreparable damage to a number of Christian mission institutions across Africa, and I’m sure across the world,” said Matthew Loftus, a missionary doctor in Kenya.

In other words, the organization that provides funding to Christian mission institutions is, according to Musk, "a viper's nest of radical-left marxists who hate America." And he's bragging about putting it through a wood chipper. Got it!

Trump's demonization of refugees (except white South Africans) is also leading to attacks on religious groups. Those have focused on organizations providing food, shelter, and other necessities to those awaiting court dates for their asylum hearings. 

When Catholic Bishops called for the humane treatment of refugees, the vice-president basically accused them of being greedy.

As a practicing Catholic, I was heartbroken by that statement. And I think that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops needs to actually look in the mirror a little bit and recognize that when they receive over $100 million to help resettle illegal immigrants, are they worried about humanitarian concerns? Or are they actually worried about their bottom line?

Trump's BFF Michael Flynn joined the chorus, accusing Catholic Charities of "ripping off American taxpayers." He went on to suggest that they were "likely supporting child sex and slave trafficking." Here's what Catholic Charities actually does:

Last year, 92 percent of the services provided by the 168 independent Catholic Charities agencies around the country covered basic needs — access to food, housing, health care and other necessities — for families and individuals struggling to get by. These vital services include food pantries for those who can’t afford groceries, childcare programs for low-income families, meal deliveries for homebound seniors, job training resources for veterans, temporary and permanent housing, mental health services and much more.

Flynn then went after Lutheran Social Services - with an "attaboy" from Musk - calling it a "money laundering operation."

All of this comes on the heels of Trump's response to Bishop Mariann Budde's plea for mercy. The president called her “a Radical Left hard line Trump hater,” “ungracious” and “nasty in tone and not compelling or smart.” Lining up to attack the whole concept of mercy were court evangelicals like Robert Jeffress of First Baptist Church in Dallas and Rob Pacienza, senior pastor at Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Ft. Lauderdale.

This points to a dilemma for those who are determined to make this country a so-called "Christian nation." To paraphrase Barack Obama, "Even if we only had Christians in our midst - if we expelled every non-Christian from the United States of America - whose Christianity would we teach in the schools? Would it be Robert Jeffress's or Mariann Budde's?"

During Trump's first term, most of his attacks on religious liberty were leveled at Muslims. This time around, it looks like they're going after anyone who actually pays attention to what Jesus taught.