2026-02-15T10:00:46.881Z / CNN
乍一看，12月一个鲜为人知的政府小组会议似乎只是普通的官僚事务。
但随后，美国消费者金融保护局（CFPB）的咨询委员会以一种不同寻常的方式开始了会议：进行基督教祈祷。
据两名参加会议的消息人士透露，一位白宫官员发表了祝福祷文。该官员在祈祷中说：“感谢你的儿子耶稣，他为我们的罪而死。”
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在唐纳德·特朗普总统任内，这种在最近几届政府中罕见的时刻正变得司空见惯。一系列由白宫推动的宗教倡议，已导致政府运作、文化和政策中系统性的宗教复兴。
美国人被鼓励每周祈祷一小时。一些政府机构开始以祈祷开场或定期举办信仰服务。圣经经文和基督教意象现在出现在官方政府社交媒体账户上。
这些以基督教为主要特征的变化，受到了数十年来一直为对抗日益世俗化的政府而奋斗的保守组织的欢迎，同时也令长期捍卫政教分离的人士感到担忧。
支持者和批评者都表示，这种宗教转向在现代史上几乎没有先例——而且这可能只是个开始。
自去年以来，跨信仰领袖、宗教法律活动人士以及总统的亲密政治盟友一直在为扩大宗教在公共生活中的作用奠定基础。
预计到今年夏天，由特朗普发起的“宗教自由委员会”将制定一份政策改革蓝图，可能重新定义美国生活中政府与宗教之间的界限。
“我们必须让宗教重新回到美国，”特朗普去年对该委员会表示，“让它比以往任何时候都更强大。”
委员会关于如何实现特朗普指令的讨论包括积极采取法律行动，起诉被指控阻碍宗教表达的州和地方政府，并停止向被视为敌视信仰的K-12学校提供联邦资金。后者与特朗普对被指未能保护犹太学生免受歧视的大学施加压力的做法类似。
他们还考虑了如何促使最高法院重新审视数十年来关于第一修正案“建立条款”（禁止美国政府建立国教或偏袒某一宗教）的先例。
尽管该委员会有来自不同信仰的代表，犹太人和穆斯林社区也参与其中，但它的核心倾向明显偏向基督教内部的保守观点。
一些参与者，包括特朗普，对学校中圣经的减少表示遗憾。
委员会成员之一、电视心理学家菲尔·麦格劳（Dr. Phil）则以更直白的方式阐述了委员会的工作。
“我们现在正处于一场宗教和文化战争中，我们每个人都是战士，”特朗普的密友麦格劳在去年9月的一次会议上表示，“没有人能置身事外。”
历任总统都曾在政府中推动宗教复兴，例如德怀特·艾森豪威尔总统签署法案，在《效忠誓词》中加入“上帝之下”，并在纸币上印上“我们信仰上帝”。
但达特茅斯学院美国宗教史教授兰德尔·巴尔默表示，他不记得有任何一届政府像现在这样，系统地、刻意地将宗教注入政府运作和日常生活。
巴尔默称，政治多数派“向其他人规定其行为方式甚至信仰方式”，这让他感到不安。
白宫发言人泰勒·罗杰斯在一份声明中称，拜登政府“将联邦政府的全部力量武器化，对抗信仰人士”。她表示，特朗普的举措将“保护宗教自由，消除联邦政府中根深蒂固的反宗教偏见”。
宗教自由委员会是这一努力的重要一步。特朗普去年成立了该小组，旨在识别不同信仰面临的“宗教自由威胁”。该委员会由得克萨斯州副州长丹·帕特里克领导，成员包括前住房和城市发展部长本·卡森、特朗普长期的宗教事务顾问保拉·怀特以及正统犹太教拉比、作家迈尔·索洛维奇克等。
委员会会议上，不同信仰的美国人作证称政府机构侵犯了他们的宗教实践，包括穆斯林、犹太人、锡克教徒和印度教徒面临的挑战。
支持者希望委员会的改革能产生难以被未来政府轻易逆转的持久影响。
“我们刚刚养成了一种坏习惯”，即利用第一修正案“压制公共领域的所有宗教表达”，专注于宗教自由诉讼的贝克特宗教自由基金主席马克·里恩齐表示。
批评者则反驳称，政府的行动超出了保护宪法保障的言论范围，有支持某一宗教之嫌。浸信会牧师、宗教传播书籍作者布莱恩·凯勒表示，该政府似乎在强调基督教高于其他所有宗教。
他指出，例如去年举行的两次劳工部跨信仰服务中，既有圣经诵读也有圣歌，但没有其他宗教的内容。
“我非常担心政教合一，因为这对教会从来都没有好处，”他说，“它将信仰变成政治工具，最终会让人们远离宗教。”
委员会成员经常称美国是一个基督教国家。在首次会议上，委员会主席帕特里克声称，美国的开国元勋“建立了一个以圣经为基础的政府”。
一些成员更明确地阐述了他们认为基督教应在美国公民生活中扮演的角色。
“没有公民中基督教信仰的充分表达，就不可能有美国，不可能有一个自治的国家，”委员会成员、保守派作家和播客主持人埃里克·梅塔克萨斯表示，“这是不可能的。”
直到上周，委员会的会议几乎没有引起公众注意。但在周一，一场关于反犹主义的听证会因争议而变得激烈：委员会成员、前选美大赛选手卡丽·普雷jean·博勒挑战了犹太发言人的信仰以及以色列对哈马斯的战争。
博勒的言论迅速在网上引发谴责，帕特里克周三宣布将其解雇。
“任何委员会成员都无权为了个人和政治议程劫持任何问题的听证会，”帕特里克在X平台（原推特）上写道。
第二天，博勒表示她坚持自己的言论，并声称只有特朗普有权将她解职。她誓言将出席3月的听证会，并表示解雇她的企图“违背了委员会保护宗教自由的使命，包括像我这样拒绝犹太复国主义的虔诚天主教徒的宗教自由”。
白宫未回应CNN就博勒在委员会的地位提出的置评请求，但一位知情人士证实她已收到正式解雇通知。
虽然隶属于司法部的宗教自由委员会的建议不具有约束力，且一些提案可能需要国会批准，但它的影响似乎已经显现。
本月早些时候，美国教育部发布新指南并透露，警告学校如果有阻止学生、教师和员工祈祷的政策，可能会失去资金。在委员会9月的听证会上，类似的惩罚学校的提议也曾被提出。
12月，委员会讨论了如何将信仰重新注入美军。一些成员建议扩大牧师的权力并恢复祈祷传统。
一周后，国防部长皮特·赫格斯泰特举行了圣诞礼拜，并宣布计划“恢复受人尊敬的牧师作为我们战斗部队的道德支柱”。
委员会成员凯利·沙克尔福德告诉CNN，他认为该小组的讨论正在推动变革。
“我们在各个领域都发现了问题——学校、大学、政府机构、私营部门、医疗保健、军队等等，”专注于宗教案件的法律组织“第一自由研究所”（First Liberty Institute）主席沙克尔福德表示。
该委员会及其工作呼应了特朗普政府正在推进的信仰与联邦政府关系的更广泛变化。除了该委员会外，政府还重组了各机构的信仰办公室，这些办公室传统上负责与宗教慈善机构合作。在特朗普任内，这些办公室现在的任务是强调宗教的自由行使，包括在一些机构中引入每月祈祷会议。
7月，白宫人事办公室发布新指南，鼓励联邦雇员在工作中谈论信仰并展示宗教象征。该备忘录还允许退伍军人事务医院的医生为患者祈祷或与患者一起祈祷。此外，美国国税局表示，将不再执行一项禁止宗教场所为维持免税地位而支持政治候选人的数十年旧规定。
一些联邦雇员告诉CNN，他们对工作中日益增加的宗教元素感到不安。参加消费者金融保护局会议的雇员指出，开场祈祷被列为会议议程的一部分，使参与感觉像是强制性的。其中一名雇员表示，基督教信息在政府环境中显得格格不入。“祈祷是我生活的一部分，但我感到非常不舒服，”该人士表示，因担心报复而要求匿名。
反对者对未来可能发生的事情有着清醒的认识。
“我们正处于早期阶段，”美国政教分离促进会（Americans United for Separation of Church and State）总裁兼首席执行官雷切尔·莱泽表示，“但这是一项政策制定工作。”
即使是一些支持该委员会工作的人也希望其最终报告不要偏袒某一宗教。
“这份报告需要解决保护所有信仰的宗教自由问题，”基督教法律协会宗教与法律中心的律师金·科尔比表示，“即使是大多数保守派基督徒也认识到，如果某一信仰得不到保护，那么实际上所有信仰都不会有保护。”
法律变革与未来
随着特朗普的信仰倡议逐步落实，政府中宗教相关的法律环境正在发生转变。
在过去十年中，由保守派多数主导的最高法院，使得宗教团体更容易获得政府资助，信仰学校也更容易获得公共资金。法院还通过支持高中橄榄球教练在球场上与球员一起祈祷的权利，并阻止拆除马里兰州退伍军人纪念公园的大型十字架，显示出对更多公开宗教表达的支持。
在此过程中，法院不再严格遵循判断政府行为是否违反第一修正案“建立条款”的长期标准，而是更强调对宗教诉求的迁就。
在去年被解职前的一次会议上，博勒回顾了法院的演变，并宣称：“现在是基督徒拥有比以往任何时候都更多权利的时候了。”
在这种背景下，委员会会议经常讨论特朗普政府应如何利用这一新局面。
圣母大学法学院教授妮可·加内特在9月作证时表示，特朗普政府应“立即行动”，反对违反最高法院新标准的现有州和联邦法律。
其他人则希望采取更激进的措施。
“坦率地说，我认为现在是时候踢开阻碍宗教进入公共领域的那扇腐朽的门了，”保守派法律培训组织詹姆斯·威尔逊研究所联合主任杰拉尔德·布拉德利表示。
布拉德利声称，最高法院实际上已经“为政府将宗教作为‘公共利益’进行推广铺平了道路”。
这种表述令批评者感到担忧。
浸信会牧师兼学者凯勒警告说：“这种国家对宗教的建立是对民主理想、多元劳动力和国家以及基督教崇拜神圣性的威胁。”
CNN的唐纳德·贾德对本文亦有贡献。
Trump has chipped away at the long-standing wall between church and state. It’s just the beginning
2026-02-15T10:00:46.881Z / CNN
At first glance, the December meeting of a little-known government panel looked like ordinary bureaucratic business.
But then, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s advisory board opened its proceedings in an unusual way: with a Christian prayer.
The benediction was delivered by a White House official. “Thank you for your son, Jesus, who died for our sins,” the official said at one point, according to two sources who attended the meeting.
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Under President Donald Trump, moments like this, rare in recent administrations, are becoming commonplace. A series of faith initiatives championed by the White House have led to a systematic religious revival within the government’s operations, culture and policy.
Americans have been encouraged to pray for an hour each week. Some government agencies have opened their meetings with prayer or hosted regular faith services. Bible verses and Christian imagery now appear on official government social media accounts.
The changes — predominately Christian in character — have been welcomed by conservative organizations that have fought for decades against an increasingly secular government, while alarming longtime defenders of a separation between church and state.
Both supporters and critics alike say this religious turn has little modern precedent — and it may be just the beginning.
Since last year, interfaith leaders, religious legal activists and close political allies of the president have been laying the groundwork for a broader expansion of the role of religion in public life.
By this summer, the group — Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission — is expected to produce a blueprint for policy changes that could redefine the boundaries between government and religion in American life.
“We have to bring back religion in America,” Trump told the commission last year. “Bring it back stronger than ever before.”
Discussions by the commission on how to fulfil Trump’s mandate have included aggressively pursuing legal action against state and local governments accused of blocking religious expression and withholding federal funding for K-12 schools viewed as hostile to faith. The latter mirrors pressure Trump has applied to colleges accused of failing to protect Jewish students from discrimination.
They have also considered ways to encourage the Supreme Court to revisit decades-old precedent governing the First Amendment’s establishment clause, which prohibits the US government from establishing a state religion or favoring one religion over others.
Though the commission has representatives from various faiths, and Jewish and Muslim communities are involved, its strongest threads skew toward conservative views within Christianity.
Some participants — including Trump — have lamented the Bible’s diminished presence in schools.
One member,television psychologist Phil McGraw, known as “Dr. Phil” has framed the commission’s work in starker terms.
“We are in a religious and cultural war right now, and every single one of us is a combatant,” said McGraw, a close Trump friend, during a September meeting. “Nobody can afford to sit on the sidelines.”
Past presidents have overseen periods of religious revival in government, such as when Dwight Eisenhower signed provisions adding “under God” to the Pledge of Allegiance and “In God We Trust” to paper currency.
But Randall Balmer, a professor of American religious history at Dartmouth College, said he cannot recall any administration that has pursued such a broad and deliberate effort to inject religion into government and daily life.
Balmer said he finds it troubling for a political majority to “dictate to everyone else how they behave and even how they believe.”
In a statement to CNN, White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers contended that former President Joe Biden “weaponized the full weight of the federal government against people of faith.” She said Trump’s efforts would “safeguard religious freedom and eliminate the anti-religious bias that was embedded in the federal government.”
The Religious Liberty Commission is a significant step in that effort. Trump established the panel last year to identify “threats” to religious liberty across faiths. It is led by Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and includes former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson, longtime Trump faith adviser Paula White, and orthodox rabbi and writer Meir Soloveichik, among others.
Commission meetings have featured Americans of different faiths testifying that government institutions infringed on their religious practices, including challenges faced by Muslims, Jews, Sikhs and Hindus.
Supporters hope the commission’s changes will result in lasting impacts that can’t be easily undone by future administrations.
“We had just gotten into a bad habit” of using the First Amendment to “stamp out all religious expressions in the public sphere,” said Mark Rienzi, president of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, a law firm that specializes in litigating faith causes.
Critics counter that the administration’s actions go beyond protecting constitutionally protected speech and risk endorsing religion. Brian Kaylor, a Baptist minister and author of books on religious communication, said the administration appears to be emphasizing Christianity above all others.
He noted that two Labor Department interfaith services that took place last year included biblical readings and songs, but not from other religions, for example.
“I’m greatly concerned about uniting church and state because it’s never gone well for the church,” he said. “It turns faith into just a political tool and ultimately drives people away.”
Commission members have routinely described the US as a Christian nation. In its first meeting, Patrick, the commission chair, asserted that the country’s founders “based a government built on the Bible.”
Some have spoken more explicitly about the role they believe Christianity should play in American civic life.
“You cannot have America, you cannot have a self-governing nation, without a robust expression of Christian faith among its citizenry,” said commission member Eric Metaxas, a conservative author and podcaster. “That is not possible.”
Until last week, the commission’s meetings attracted little public attention. But on Monday, a hearing on antisemitism grew heated after one commissioner, former beauty pageant contestant Carrie Prejean Boller, challenged Jewish speakers about their beliefs and Israel’s war against Hamas.
Boller’s remarks quickly drew condemnation online, and Patrick announced her dismissal on Wednesday.
“No member of the commission has the right to hijack a hearing for their personal and political agenda on any issue,” Patrick wrote on X.
The next day, Boller said she stood by her remarks and asserted only Trump had the authority to remove her. She vowed to show up at the March hearing and said the attempt to remove her “contradicts the mission” of the commission to protect religious liberty, “including that of devout Catholics like myself who reject Zionism.”
The White House did not respond to questions from CNN about Boller’s status on the commission, but a person familiar with the matter confirmed she was officially given a termination notice.
Recommendations from the commission, which is housed in the Department of Justice, are not binding, and it’s likely that some proposals would require approval from Congress. Still, its influence already seems to be visible.
Earlier this month, the Department of Education warned schools they could lose funding if they have policies that block students, teachers and staff from praying, according to new guidance issued by the agency and obtained by CNN.
A nearly identical approach to punishing schools was proposed during the commission’s September hearing.
In December, the commission debated how to reinfuse faith into the US military. Some members suggested expanding authority for chaplains and the return of prayer.
A week later, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth held a Christmas worship service and announced plans to “restore the esteemed chaplains as moral anchors of our fighting force.”
Kelly Shackelford, a commission member, told CNN he believes the group’s discussions are driving change.
“We are finding problems in every area — in schools, in universities, in government agencies, in the private sector, in health care, in the military and more,” said Shackelford, president of the First Liberty Institute, a legal group focused on religious cases.
The commission and its work echo broader changes between faith and the federal government that the Trump administration is putting into place. Besides the commission, the administration has reshaped faith-based offices at agencies, which traditionally worked to link up with religious charities. Under Trump, they are now tasked with emphasizing the free exercise of religion, including introducing monthly prayer meetings in some agencies.
In July, the White House personnel office issued new guidance encouraging federal workers to talk about faith and display religious symbols at work. The memo also allows doctors at Veteran Affairs hospitals to pray with or over patients. Separately, the Internal Revenue Service has said it will not enforce a decades-old provision barring houses of worship from endorsing political candidates as a condition of maintaining their tax-exempt status.
Some federal workers told CNN they are increasingly uneasy with the infusion of faith already appearing in their work. The employees who attended the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau meeting noted the opening prayer was listed as part of the meeting agenda, making participation feel compulsory. One of the employees said they found the Christian messaging out of place in a government setting. “Prayer is part of my life, nevertheless I felt extremely uncomfortable,” the person said. They asked not to be named for fear of reprisal.
Opponents are clear-eyed about what may be coming.
“We are in the early stages,” said Rachel Laser, president and CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, “but this is a policy-making effort.”
Even some who support the commission’s work say they hope its final report does not privilege one faith over others.
“The report needs to be one that addresses protecting religious freedom of all faiths,” said Kim Colby, a lawyer for the Center for Law and Religious Freedom at the Christian Legal Society.
“Even most conservative Christians recognize that if there’s one faith that doesn’t have protection, then in reality no faiths have protections.”
Legal shifts and the future
As Trump’s faith initiatives are taking hold, the legal ground on religion in government is shifting.
Over the past decade, the Supreme Court, led by the conservative majority, has made it easier for religious groups to seek government grants and faith-based schools to receive public funding. It has signaled support for more public expressions of faith, such as by siding with a high school football coach fired for praying on the field with players and by blocking the removal of a large cross in a Maryland veterans memorial park.
Along the way, the court has moved away from long-standing tests used to determine whether government acts violate the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause (that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion”), placing greater emphasis on accommodating religious causes.
At a meeting last year well before her dismissal, Boller took stock of the court’s evolution and declared: “Now is the time that we have more rights as Christians than we’ve ever had.”
Against this backdrop, commission meetings have regularly turned to how the Trump administration should take advantage of this new landscape.
Nicole Garnett, a Notre Dame law professor, testified in September that the Trump administration should “take immediate action” against existing state and federal laws that run afoul of the Supreme Court’s new standards.
Others want to push further.
“To put it bluntly, I think it’s time to kick in the rotten door that’s barring religion from the public square,” said Gerard Bradley, the co-director of the conservative legal training organization James Wilson Institute.
Bradley asserted that the Supreme Court has effectively “prepared the way” for the government to promote religion as a “common good.”
That framing alarms critics.
Kaylor, the Baptist minister and scholar, warned: “Such state establishment of religion is a threat to democratic ideals, a pluralistic workforce and nation, and the sanctity of Christian worship.”
CNN’s Donald Judd contributed to this report.
