Presidential Commission Issues Draft Report on Ways to Protect Religious Freedom

Religious Freedom, , ,

As our nation prepares to mark 250 years of independence, the Presidential Religious Liberty Commission has issued a preliminary report on ways the federal government could uphold the free exercise of religion.

Religious liberty is recognized and protected under the First Amendment, and it is one of the hallmarks of our nation. But religious freedom has repeatedly come under attack in court, in government, and elsewhere.

News outlets and congressional testimony have alleged that government policies and government agencies have been weaponized against people of faith — especially conservative and Christian groups.

Last year President Trump signed an executive order establishing the Presidential Religious Liberty Commission. The commission is responsible for “producing a comprehensive report on the foundations of religious liberty in America, strategies to increase awareness of and celebrate America’s peaceful religious pluralism, current threats to religious liberty, and strategies to preserve and enhance protections for future generations.”

Over the past twelve months, the commission has heard testimony from Americans who are deeply concerned about protecting the free exercise of religion. In a summary of its draft report, the commission highlighted some of the ways religious freedom has been infringed, writing:

For example, elementary student Shea Encinas was bullied for standing up for his Christian faith when he was forced to read his peer a book that told him he could choose his gender—the school refused to help and doubled down on pushing gender ideology onto the students. Teacher Marisol Arroyo-Castro was told she had to remove a cross near her desk or lose her job. Jennifer Mead’s 11-year-old daughter was pressured by school authorities to believe she was a boy. Navy Seal Blake Martin lost his pension when he was just three years away from retirement eligibility because he objected to the COVID-19 vaccine. Dr. Eithan Haim was indicted by the Biden Department of Justice for blowing the whistle on Texas Children’s Hospital’s gender mutilation surgeries for minors. Shabbos Kestenbaum was targeted on Harvard’s campus simply for being Jewish. And Lacey Smith was fired from her flight attendant position at Alaska Airlines because she answered the invitation to respectfully share her thoughts on the Equality Act. These Americans have suffered greatly for their religious beliefs.

The commission also released a list of 12 ways the federal government could strengthen religious liberty for all Americans — such as by repealing the Johnson Amendment and by directing federal agencies to “issue ‘Know Your Rights’ Posters for students, parents, public school teachers and administrators, religious leaders, religious institutions, healthcare workers, and military servicemembers.”

People should be free to live and operate according to their deeply held religious convictions. That is why it is so important for our laws — and the government agencies that enforce those laws — to protect religious liberty as much as possible.

Over the years, Arkansas has enacted a number of good laws that do exactly that.

For example, in 2015 Gov. Hutchinson signed Arkansas’ Religious Freedom Restoration Act into law, and in 2023 lawmakers passed additional legislation to further strengthen that good law.

In 2021 Arkansas passed Act 462 protecting healthcare workers’ rights of conscience. Before 2021, Arkansas’ conscience protections were narrowly written, and they protected very few people. Act 462 helped broaden those protections for all healthcare workers.

Last year, the Arkansas Legislature passed Act 400, the Religious Rights at Public Schools Act of 2025. This good law by Sen. Mark Johnson (R — Little Rock) and Rep. Alyssa Brown (R — Heber Springs) affirms public school students’ and teachers’ religious liberties.

Lawmakers also enacted Act 677 of 2025 by Rep. Robin Lundstrum (R — Elm Springs) and Sen. Gary Stubblefield (R — Branch) ensuring that religious organizations and religious individuals are not penalized for living out their deeply held religious convictions, and Act 970 by Sen. Kim Hammer (R — Benton) and Rep. Lee Johnson (R — Greenwood) strengthening the healthcare workers’ rights of conscience law Arkansas passed in 2021.

Family Council deeply appreciates our policymakers at the state and federal levels working diligently to protect the free exercise of religion. It’s a fundamental freedom that is truly worth protecting.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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Guest Column: Spielberg Wants to “Mess With” Your Faith

Christianity,

Award winning film director Steven Spielberg said recently that his new film will likely “mess with” a lot of people’s theology. “Disclosure Day” is about what would happen if there were a sudden mass revelation about the existence of extraterrestrial life. According to Spielberg, it will force people, especially Christians, to rethink Who God is. 

As he told CBS Sunday Morning, 

What does this do to the fundamental beliefs that many of us have? … Is God our God only on this planet or is God a God for every system where there’s civilization, intelligent life, and even developing life? 

It’s not unusual for celebrity artists to weigh in on things outside of their expertise, but this talented filmmaker is out of his depth. Even if there were a real life disclosure day, it would not alter anything about Christians’ fundamental beliefs. The God portrayed in the Bible created and oversees the entire universe. As the Psalmist said, “The Lord established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all.” That could easily include other worlds and other life forms. But of course, there is no evidence of that anyway. This is a film. Spielberg must think that Christianity is barely hanging on from falling into the dustbin of history.  

If so, he’s certainly not the first. Expectations of Christian extinction go back to the beginning. According to the Gospel of John, the High Priest Caiaphas thought that killing Jesus would erase His influence. When He failed to stay dead, the Jerusalem authorities thought that bribes and rumors would stamp out the new Faith. Those same authorities hoped that beating and scolding the apostles would keep them quiet. 

The Romans spent centuries trying to stamp out Christianity, from Nero who infamously burned believers in his gardens to Marcus Aurelius who believed he could mock them out of their faith. By the 200s, the Church had grown so much that Emperor Decius decreed an empire-wide assault on Christians. By the beginning of the fourth century, Diocletian instigated the Great Persecution. In the end, persecution set the stage for toleration. Eventually, under Theodosius I, the Roman Empire was Christianized.  

Later, when the Western Empire fell to Germanic tribes, the Church did not fall with it. Instead, Christianity not only endured but the pagans were converted. Islam tried to take down the Church a few centuries later. After subjugating Christianity in the Middle East, Muslim raiders seemed poised to conquer Western Europe. They were stopped in the middle of what is France. Almost 1,000 years later, armies of the Turkish Sultan advanced to Vienna, twice, before being pushed back. The smart money would have been that Christianity would fall, but it did not. 

During the Enlightenment, confidence that the Church would fall was at an all-time high. In the 1700s, the influential French thinker Voltaire claimed that he was “living in the twilight of Christianity.” In 1822, Thomas Jefferson added that, “I trust there is not a young man now living in the U.S. who will not die a Unitarian.” Voltaire’s home later housed a Bible society, and Jefferson’s generation was followed by religious awakenings and an explosion of missionaries sent around the world. 

In the twentieth century, the Communists predicted the end of what Marx called the “opiate of the masses.” Everywhere they went, revolutionary groups assaulted religion, especially Christianity. In Russia, China, Cuba, and elsewhere, the first targets of the Communists were churches, pastors, priests, and other religious groups. Often the persecution worsened out of frustration that the Faith simply would not die. In the end, Christianity stood over Communism’s grave, after contributing to its demise. 

Whether from internal failings or external threats, Christians can be discouraged. But, to borrow a quip from Mark Twain, predictions of the church’s demise are greatly exaggerated. If emperors and empires and armies haven’t stamped it out, Steven Spielberg doesn’t have a chance.

Copyright 2026 by the Colson Center for Christian Worldview. Reprinted from BreakPoint.org with permission.

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Poll: Most Americans Say Suicide Is Wrong — But Many Support Physician-Assisted Suicide Anyway

Bioethics, Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide, , , , ,

A new Gallup poll shows most Americans believe suicide in general is morally wrong, but opinions are split over physician-assisted suicide.

Gallup’s annual Values and Beliefs survey measures Americans’ views on a wide variety of behaviors — like gambling, human cloning, divorce, and so on.

This year’s survey found 70% of Americans say suicide is morally wrong, which is a strong majority.

But here’s the contradiction: views on “doctor-assisted suicide” are nearly evenly split, with a staggering 49% of Americans saying physician-assisted suicide is morally acceptable.

It seems like many people may believe that suicide is wrong — except in certain cases or when a doctor assists with the suicide. That should concern every pro-life Arkansan.

Physician-assisted suicide is typically sold to the public as a “compassionate” option for people facing terminal illness. But experience has shown that assisted suicide doesn’t help people who are sick or dying, and it doesn’t remain limited to a few cases.

In Oregon — the first state to legalize physician-assisted suicide back in 1997 — a record 637 lethal prescriptions were written last year. Of those patients, only two were referred for psychiatric evaluation before receiving a prescription for suicide. That is a serious failure.

Data shows many of these patients are lonely and feel like they are losing control over their lives. They need counseling and support — not a deadly prescription.

Assisted suicide fundamentally changes the doctor-patient relationship from healing to killing. The Hippocratic Oath promises to “first, do no harm.” Prescribing lethal drugs violates that sacred trust.

The slippery slope is real. In Canada, Belgium, and Netherlands, assisted suicide has expanded far beyond rare, terminal illnesses. Canada is on pace to record its 100,000th assisted suicide death this summer. What starts as a “compassionate choice” eventually becomes routine killing.

In parts of the U.S. where physician-assisted suicide is legal, insurance companies have refused to pay for patients’ medical care, but have offered to cover assisted suicide drugs.

Being pro-life means believing innocent human life is sacred from conception until natural death. Just like abortion, euthanasia and assisted suicide violate the sanctity of innocent human life.

That’s why Family Council has strongly opposed assisted suicide legislation in Arkansas. In 2019 and 2021, Arkansas lawmakers wisely rejected very bad end-of-life legislation. Family Council worked closely with our friends in the legislature to stop those proposals.

Gallup’s survey shows Americans understand that suicide is wrong. We should remember that holds true even when activists try to dress it up as “medicine.”

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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