Critics sound alarm as Trump official calls separation of church and state 'a lie'

Religion News reports the leader of President Donald Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission said out loud that church and state separation is a falsehood at the group’s final meeting — which immediately drew fire from a pro-Constitution advocacy group.At a Monday hearing at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C., Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, a Republican and the chair of the commission, broached his claim, saying: “Would it not be a good recommendation that every school, every university, every business, has to have that one sheet on the bulletin board about protecting people’s religious liberty, and that the separation of church and state is the biggest lie that’s been told in America since our founding?” Patrick said posts proclaiming the death of church and state could be similar to federal notices from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration promoting safety and preventing hazards. Religion News reports Patrick posed his question to George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School professor Helen Alvaré, who agreed. “You’re responding to the signs of the times where this has been misunderstood, and like any other thing, where people are unclear about their rights, this might be a way to clarify them,” Religion News reports Alvaré saying.But Rachel Laser, the president and CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, had none of it, arguing that the Constitution protects freedom of religion specifically by accepting the separation of church and state as granted.“Church-state separation ensures we are all free to live as ourselves and believe as we choose, as long as we don’t harm others,” Laser said. “It allows us all to come together as equals to build a stronger democracy. It is an American original, something we should be proud of, fight for, and cherish.”Laser went on to hammer Trump’s so-called "‘Religious Liberty’" Commission, saying it “once again demonstrated that its mission isn’t about protecting religious liberty for all. Instead, today it rebuked a foundational pillar of religious liberty: the separation of church and state,” Laser said. “Chairman Patrick repeatedly calling the separation of church and state a ‘lie’ is an attack on our democracy.”Trump created the commission by executive order last year to “bring cases before the Supreme Court” that provide the opportunity “to remake the First Amendment's Establishment Clause, which bars the government from endorsing a national religion.” Since it’s formation, the commission has been plagued by infighting as anti-Israel board members were jettisoned from the board and further deepened the Israeli rift among Trump’s MAGA followers.