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President Donald Trump said Monday that his administration will soon issue new guidance aimed at expanding protections for prayer in public schools.
Speaking at a meeting of the Justice Department’s Religious Liberty Commission at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C., Trump said, “the Department of Education will soon issue new guidance protecting … prayer in our public schools, and it’s total protection.”
The president did not provide specifics on the policy but framed it as part of a broader effort to restore faith’s role in American life.
“For most of our country’s history, the Bible was found in every classroom in the nation, yet in many schools today students are instead indoctrinated with anti-religious propaganda and some are punished for their religious beliefs. Very, very strongly punished. It is ridiculous,” Trump said.
He added, “When faith gets weaker, our country seems to get weaker. When faith gets stronger, as it is right now, we’re having a very good period of time after some rough years, good things happen for our country. It’s amazing the way it seems to work that way.”
Education Department press secretary Savannah Newhouse said in a statement that “the Department of Education looks forward to supporting President Trump’s vision to promote religious liberty in our schools across the country.”
The announcement comes against a decades-long legal backdrop. In the early 1960s, the Supreme Court ruled that state-sponsored prayer and Bible readings in public schools were unconstitutional. Those rulings established that government-run schools could not organize or endorse religious observances, even if participation was voluntary, though students retained the right to pray individually or in groups on their own.
While delivering remarks to attendees, the president also revealed that he had donated his family’s Bible, which he used during both of his inaugurations, to the museum, RSBN reported on Monday.
“For thousands of years, the Bible has shaped civilization, ethics, art, and literature, and it’s brought hope, healing, and transformation to untold millions and millions of lives,” Trump shared.
“The Bible is also an important part of the American story. That’s why I am delighted to announce that just moments ago, I personally delivered the Trump family Bible,” Trump said. He recalled the exact moment his mother gave him the Bible and added, “It will now be displayed right in the heart of our nation’s capital, right here, and it’s an honor, it’s an honor.”