Protect religious freedom, but not religious supremacists

President Trump celebrated National Religious Freedom Day yesterday with several initiatives aimed at ending discriminatory federal treatment of faith communities. He described his administration’s commitment to school prayer and other protections by declaring, “We will not let anyone push God from the public square.” 

Fortunately, troubling as it is, such religious intolerance here pales by comparison with that Christians are experiencing elsewhere. On Wednesday, Open Doors USA published new research indicating that 260 million people are being heavily persecuted globally, simply for following Jesus. And many millions more face systematic, if less severe, repression.

The President deserves great credit for his sustained efforts on behalf of religious liberty. Real care must be exercised, however, that we not – in its name – protect and enable those who insist that the free exercise of their faith entitles them to deny others that foundational freedom. 

This is Frank Gaffney.