Trump to offer new guidance on school prayer amid rift with evangelical magazine
WASHINGTON – As he seeks to shore up support among evangelical Christians who were key to his election, President Donald Trump on Thursday is set to announce new federal guidance he has said will “safeguard” students’ ability to pray in school.
Details of the announcement were not clear, but Trump previewed the idea during an address to evangelicals in Florida this month, praising state efforts to expand school prayer and warning against what he described as “hard left” opposition.
“I will be taking action to safeguard students’ and teachers’ First Amendment rights to pray in their schools,” Trump said at the Evangelicals for Trump event in Miami. “They want to take that right along with many other rights.”
It was, in fact, the Supreme Court that cracked down on prayer in schools in the 1960s. Students are permitted to pray alone or in groups in school as long as other students aren’t compelled to take part.
Trump’s remarks will come weeks after a faith-focused magazine, Christianity Today, founded by evangelical preacher Billy Graham posted an editorial calling for him to be removed from office. The president blasted the magazine as “far left” but the editorial nevertheless re-opened a debate about Trump’s presidency among evangelicals.
More:Trump calls Christianity Today ‘far left’ after editorial called for his removal
In the 2016 presidential election, Trump won 80% of the votes from whites who declared themselves born-again or evangelical Christians, according to exit polling. Trump told the crowd in Miami that he expects his re-election to generate even more enthusiasm among the Christian faithful than in 2016.
More:Tennessee school system promotes Christianity, lawsuit claims
Though it was not clear what specifically has sparked Trump’s interest in the issue, the president mentioned during his remarks an effort in Tennessee to expand school prayer. The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit in November against a school district there that it said sponsored prayer assemblies and Bible distribution.
Contributing: Palm Beach Post, David Jackson
