President Trump commemorated the National Day of Prayer on Thursday by establishing a new commission protecting religious liberty and telling a Rose Garden audience that religion is essential for a flourishing nation. Surrounded by religious and political leaders, Trump signed an executive order establishing the Religious Liberty Commission, which the White House said would "safeguard and promote America's founding principle of religious freedom."

"We're bringing back religion in our country, and we're bringing it back quickly and strongly," Trump said at the ceremony. "Because for America to be a great nation, we must always be one nation under God."

The commission will, according to the White House, produce a comprehensive report on the 1) foundations of religious liberty in America, 2) strategies to "increase awareness of and celebrate America's peaceful religious pluralism," and 3) the "current threats to religious liberty and strategies to preserve and enhance protections for future generations."

"Key focus areas include parental rights in religious education, school choice, conscience protections, attacks on houses of worship, free speech for religious entities, and institutional autonomy," the White House said in a fact sheet.

The Commission will advise the White House Faith Office and the Domestic Policy Council on the issue of religious freedom and recommend executive or legislative actions to protect it.

"We want to defend and represent people of all faiths and their religious freedoms at home and abroad," Trump said. "...As we defend religious freedom in America, we're also standing up against religious persecution around the world."

Committee members will come from "diverse" religious and professional backgrounds, including clergy, academics, legal experts, public advocates, and ex-officio government officials, the summary said.

The White House said the commission is necessary due to recent federal and state policies that have undermined religious liberty by "targeting conscience protections." Such policies have restricted parents' ability to send their children to religious schools, jeopardized funding and nonprofit status for faith-based organizations, and barred religious groups from participating in government programs.

The Biden administration's Department of Justice, the fact sheet said, "targeted peaceful Christians while ignoring violent, anti-Christian offenses."

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