Without much advanced notice among national pundits and media, President Donald Trump held a ceremony at the White House Rose Garden this week featuring members of his newly commissioned Faith Office, established this past February. 

The event was held primarily to commemorate the 42nd annual National Day of Prayer. President Trump addressed the media shortly after the prayers subsided and an inspirational version of “Amazing Grace” concluded worship. 

“They say separation between church and state … I said, ‘All right, let’s forget about that for one time,” he said.  

That’s how the President set the tone for a historic morning. 

He unveiled a new Religious Liberty Commission whose sole focus is tackling religious liberties aimed against Christians and declaring his administration’s efforts to “stand up against religious persecution around the world.”

“We’re bringing back religion in our country, and we’re bringing it back quickly and strongly because for America to be a great nation,” Trump said. “We must always be one nation under God.”

The Religious Liberty Commission Trump said the Religious Liberty Commission would be led by Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick and Dr. Ben Carson, secretary of Housing and Urban Development, during Trump’s first term. He advised the new organization is tasked with producing a report on “current threats to religious liberty and strategies to preserve and enhance protections for future generations” and recommending executive actions.

With a staggering 81 percent of White Evangelicals as the foundation of his base support, the President is not ashamed of the Gospel or this Commission. 

Patrick was in attendance and told Trump, “There’s never been a president who’s invoked the name of Jesus more than you.” 

Paula White Cain, the head of the administration’s new Faith Office, said, “Prayer is not a religious act; it’s a national necessity.” 

Her comments also underscored the need for this move and tried to delineate the newly blurred lines between church and state.

Following her remarks, she prayed for the President: “We call for a spiritual reset in our nation, a return to what is right, a reverence for what is sacred, a real alignment with your divine purpose.” 

The Commission will also recommend actions to secure domestic religious liberty. When enacted, those suggestions will create opportunities for the White House Faith Office to collaborate with the Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom to promote religious liberty globally.

“They said, really, there’s separation. I don’t know. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? I’m not sure, but whether there’s separation or not, you guys are in the White House where you should be, and you’re representing our country. We’re bringing religion back to our country, and it’s a big deal,” Trump said following placing his signature on the new executive order.