While it is the First Amendment to the Constitution, President Donald Trump seemingly forgets that an integral part of that amendment is, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”
Trump proudly says he is a Christian and grew up Presbyterian, although I would argue that nothing he has done as President is heaven-worthy.
This week, as part of America Reads The Bible, Trump read passages of the Old Testament, but this is clear favoritism of one religion over the others and a violation of the First Amendment.
The event was celebrating 250 years of the Bible in America and was livestreamed on the America Reads the Bible website and the Great American Pure Flix app. Trump pre-recorded his readings in the Oval Office, according to USA Today.
In a statement given by the president on April 17, he states, “Together, we will honor Holy Scripture, renew our faith, usher in a historic resurgence of religion on American shores and rededicate the United States as one Nation under God.”
The ‘under God’ part of the Pledge of Allegiance was not in the original version, but was instead added by President Dwight Eisenhower in 1954.
According to History.com, “The push to add ‘under God’ to the pledge gained momentum during the second Red Scare, a period when U.S. politicians were keen to assert the moral superiority of U.S. capitalism over Soviet communism, which many conservatives regarded as ‘godless.’
So all in all, it wasn’t even really for religious purposes that ‘under God’ was added to the Pledge in the first place.
Eisenhower also made “In God We Trust” the official motto of the United States.
Given that many public schools required you to recite the pledge every morning, many lawsuits were filed throughout the decades (starting in the 1950s and continuing into the 2010s) that raised concerns over the religious aspect of the Pledge.
Since the beginning of Trump’s second term, he has shoved Christianity down Americans’ throats.
According to PBS News, “The Trump administration has green-lit political endorsements from the pulpit and encouraged religion in the federal workplace.”
Trump has also continued to use religion as an excuse for bigotry and even announced he will “bring back prayer” to schools after it was previously ruled as a First Amendment right violation in 1962.
Apparently, Trump must think of the Constitution as a mere suggestion, considering the number of times he’s violated it throughout his term.
It’s interesting to note that Trump’s participation in this event came after his comments against Pope Leo XIV speaking in opposition to war. Trump also posted an artificial intelligence-generated image depicting himself as Jesus Christ.
Seemingly, Trump is trying to save face with his Christian supporters, who have started questioning his faith since these posts.
Trump read 2 Chronicles 7:11-22 and I found the whole reading to be quite interesting, particularly 7:12-14.
“And the Lord appeared to Solomon by night, and said unto him, I have heard thy prayer, and have chosen this place to myself for an house of sacrifice. If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people; If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”
Now I am sure those who truly understand the Bible and read it often have a different interpretation of these verses, but to me, it seems like he’s using the Bible to justify hatred yet again. It reminded me of Trump deploying National Guard troops into major U.S. cities. He also seems to be comparing himself to Jesus… yet again.
I was raised Catholic, and while I no longer associate myself with religion, even I know that Jesus fed the poor, and that the entire reason why he was crucified was that he was perceived as a political threat to the Romans. One of the biggest points in the Bible I remembered learning in Sunday school is “Love thy neighbor” regardless of their sins because Jesus died for our sins and his love is unconditional. Lastly, the third verse of the Ten Commandments is “You shall have no other gods before me,” yet Trump continuously puts himself on a pedestal and acts as if he is God himself. Sounds like a Greek myth I read once. What was the name of the story again? Oh yeah. Narcissus. The guy who fell in love with his reflection.
If Trump truly were a devout Christian as he claims he is, he would stop cherry-picking the Bible.
Jesus wouldn’t be forcing a diverse population to adopt Christianity, and he certainly wouldn’t be bombing his neighbors in the Middle East.
Madelyn Marabella can be contacted at
mmarabella@kscequinox.com
