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How Trump Distorts True Religious Liberty

How Trump Distorts True Religious Liberty

Last updated on: May 5, 2025 at 1:32 am by Henry Karlson

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How Trump Distorts True Religious Liberty 2025-05-05T01:32:36-05:00 Henry Karlson

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While a part of me, having watched various Christians and Catholics demonstrate ignorance of basic Christian morality as they turned to and adhered to extreme right-wing political ideals and confused them with Christian principles, is not surprised with the way so many Christians have joined themselves to the Trump agenda, another part of me continues to be shocked, confused, sad and angry with the way they embraced Trump. I think this is because I want to believe my fellow Christians really want to follow Christ and what Christ taught despite the fact that time and time again, this has been shown not to be the case (which is why some, upon being told what Jesus taught, rejected it as being too “weak” and “liberal”).

It seems to me that many want to use Christianity, and Christ, only for their own private benefit; anything which props them up, such as the notion that Christ will save them despite what they do (faith without works), will be approved, but anything which gets in the way of their objectives will be ignored or worse, actively resisted. They think they can and should be able to dictate to Christ what he can do for them, that is, he can save them and promote their own initiatives, while they are unwilling to listen to Christ and follow his expectations for this. Because of this, religion has become, for them, not something which they use to learn how to best live in the world, but rather, it has become a tool they use for their own benefit, a tool which they use to control and dominate others. Since Donald Trump does the same thing, since he uses a religion as a tool to attack the same people they want to attack, they willingly embrace Trump and what he promotes, thinking they both will benefit as a result. When questioned, when told they are doing wrong, they fall back to their use of religion, where religion is a tool to be used to promote their own ideologies, saying if they are not free to use religion in this fashion their faith, their religious liberty, is being denied them. Of course, the religious faith that they talk about is really a projection of their own personal, inordinate wants and desires instead of what they learn and follow from some external source of revelation (which, for Christians should be Christ).

I think this explains the way they talk about religious liberty; once again, religion to them is a tool which they use to get what they want out of life, which is why religious liberty to them means they should be free to dominate and control others. True religion has little or nothing to do with their notion of religion, and with it, their notion of religious liberty, which is why they have no problems stopping the religious liberty of others (as can be seen in the way they embraced the Muslim ban of Trump’s first presidency, to the way they thought Episcopal Bishop Mariann Budde should be punished for speaking up against Trump’s policies, or the way his administration attacks Christians helping migrants and is willing to violate the sanctuary of churches to capture or abduct those migrants they want removed from the United States). They do not care about the religious beliefs and practices of others. They do not care if they violate the beliefs and practices of others. What they want to do is use the language of religious liberty and invoke it as a defense for their indefensible actions, which for many is Christian nationalism (and white supremacy). Religion, again, for them mixes with politics, which is why Trump could say, with his establishing of a so-called Religious Liberty Commission, it is time to overcome the division between church and state. True religious liberty requires the state not to be confused with religion, nor religion with the state, because when the two merge and become one without distinction, the rights of those whose religious faith is not the same as that of the preferred religion find themselves being deemed traitors to the state and their rights questioned if not outright denied because of this.

It is also in this light that I think we need to take Trump seriously when he says he would like to be Pope. As usual, Trump first said this in a way that many dismissed it as a joke, even if it were a joke in bad taste; but, by the way he kept repeating it, by the way he demonstrated this notion on social media, it is clear he is telling us his real desire. This is a pattern for Trump, as can be seen in the way he discussed the United States taking over Greenland and Canada; at first, people said it was all a joke, but then, over time, it became quite clear, he was deadly serious, and not was he telling us what he wanted, he made sure we would know he would do anything he could to get his wish fulfilled. This is how we should read his statements about wanting to be Pope. He is very serious. He wants to be Pope. He has already had yes-men suggest it sounds like a good idea. What I have not seen is those Catholics he has chosen for positions of power and authority in his administration, nor those Catholic Bishops he has chosen to be on board his Religious Liberty Commission, speak clearly against this. Where are Cardinal Dolan and Bishop Barron personally telling Trump to stop? Yes, the New York Bishops issued a statement, but Dolan, with his personal relationship with Trump needs to do more than leave it to some committee-made statement (or say that he hopes Trump had nothing to do with it). Now, some might say, even if he is serious, nothing will come of it, but that is not how Trump does things. He always acts on his desires. He will do something, and if he does not get what he wants, he attacks those who gets in his way. This is why I would not put anything past Trump. There are enough radical right-wing pseudo-Catholic (schismatic traditionalists) out there, some who have been known to choose their own Pope for themselves, that I would not be surprised if one of them might offer Trump a deal, one which he would accept. He certainly has found his way with these groups, as can be seen in the way he has a contingent of such nuns following him to all his rallies. Even if, as is most likely, he does not get his desire fulfilled in any form, such as through traditionalists, he has already brought attention to himself, and he has tested the waters to see what kind of reaction would be had by those who otherwise approve of what he does. He wants more people to praise him. If he won’t get it one way, expect him to find another way to do it. This is just one way which seems to have appealed to him once the thoug

When Vladimir Solovyov wrote his short story about the anti-Christ, he wrote of a figure who was intelligent and appeared outwardly benevolent, one who, in his benevolence, suggested he could bring Christianity back together as one under himself. His anti-Christ offered the various Christian groups their worldly desires, and because of it, many succumbed, though Solovyov wrote of the remnant of each group which did not, a remnant which finally came together to speak out and resist the anti-Christ. While Trump might not be the anti-Christ, and he certainly is not as smooth, as eloquent, nor as apparently benevolent as Solovyov’s anti-Christ, I cannot but help see the resemblance between Solovyov’s anti-Christ with Trump and the way Trump deals with Christians, offering them their worldly desires so long as they bow down to him and embrace his movement and support his every whim. This is why I do see Trump as at least a figure who walks in the path of the anti-Christ, and I this way, can be said to be an anti-Christ, even if he is not the final anti-Christ Christians expect will arise at the end of time. He has convinced many Christians to ignore Christ and instead, to embrace the way of Sodom and Gomorrah, the sin which cries up to heaven, as they no longer welcome or help those in need. And if this is the case now, I can only wonder with horror what the next, and worse, figure who walks the path of the anti-Christ will be like.

* This Is Part LVII Of My Personal (Informal) Reflections And Speculations Series

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N.B.: While I read comments to moderate them, I rarely respond to them. If I don’t respond to your comment directly, don’t assume I am unthankful for it. I appreciate it. But I want readers to feel free to ask questions, and hopefully, dialogue with each other. I have shared what I wanted to say, though some responses will get a brief reply by me, or, if I find it interesting and something I can engage fully, as the foundation for another post. I have had many posts inspired or improved upon thanks to my readers.

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