S6, Ep. 08: Ten Commandments and Trump’s first week

01/30/25 • 36 min

In this week’s show, Amanda and Holly discuss the problems with government mandates to post the Ten Commandments in classrooms, focusing on a case out of Louisiana. BJC and other Christian groups filed a brief in that case to explain why, as Christians, we oppose the Louisiana law and how the government’s decision to choose a religious text to display in a public school setting not only cheapens our faith but also puts the government in a role it is not called to play. Plus, Amanda and Holly talk through President Donald Trump’s first week back in the White House, sharing where they saw concerning signs for religion and religious liberty.

SHOW NOTESSegment 1 (starting at 00:38): President Trump’s first week back and backlash to a sermon

Amanda and Holly talked about ways to handle a constant influx of news and the dangers of “God saved me” rhetoric when others died in the episode after the 2024 election: S6, Ep. 04: Election Day: What happened and where do we go from here

Amanda wrote a piece for Bloomberg Opinion about the backlash to Bishop Mariann Budde’s sermon at the service of unity and what it teaches us about religious freedom: Trump’s Response to Bishop’s Sermon on Unity Is Un-American

Learn more about the two new religious liberty cases to be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court in this piece on our website: U.S. Supreme Court agrees to hear cases involving religious school funding, parent rights to opt out of grade school curriculum

Amanda and Holly discussed the issues with religious charter schools in 2024: S5, Ep. 16: The trouble with *religious* charter schools

Read more about the lawsuit filed by a group of Quaker congregations opposing raids in churches on religious freedom grounds in this article by Bernie Pazanowski for Bloomberg Law: Quakers Sue to Block Trump’s Immigration Raids in Churches

Segment 2 (starting at 14:21): Louisiana’s mandate to post the Ten Commandments in classrooms

Read the brief from BJC and other Chrisitan groups in Roake v. Brumley at this link.

Learn more about the case in this post on our website: BJC urges federal appeals court to reject Louisiana law requiring public school classrooms to post the Ten Commandments

Holly and Amanda discussed the Kennedy v. Bremerton decision and its abandonment of the Lemon test in this episode in 2022: S3, Ep. 21: Not solving a problem, but creating one: Dissecting the Kennedy v. Bremerton decision

Holly and Amanda discussed the Ten Commandments on two episodes in 2023 when a bill was being discussed in Texas: S4, Ep. 20: The Ten Commandments S4, Ep. 21: 613 Commandments: James Talarico on his defense of church-state separation as a Christian

Segment 3 (starting 29:53): Oral arguments and what’s next

Hear last week’s oral arguments in this case at the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at this link.

Respecting Religion is made possible by BJC’s generous donors. Your gift to BJC is tax-deductible, and you can support these conversations with a gift to BJC.

SHOW NOTESSegment 1 (starting at 00:38): President Trump’s first week back and backlash to a sermon

Amanda and Holly discussed the issues with religious charter schools in 2024: S5, Ep. 16: The trouble with *religious* charter schools

Segment 2 (starting at 14:21): Louisiana’s mandate to post the Ten Commandments in classrooms

Read the brief from BJC and other Chrisitan groups in Roake v. Brumley at this link.

Learn more about the case in this post on our website: BJC urges federal appeals court to reject Louisiana law requiring public school classrooms to post the Ten Commandments

Segment 3 (starting 29:53): Oral arguments and what’s next

Hear last week’s oral arguments in this case at the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at this link.

Respecting Religion is made possible by BJC’s generous donors. Your gift to BJC is tax-deductible, and you can support these conversations with a gift to BJC.

Previous Episode

S6, Ep. 07: Jimmy Carter: Baptist, president, servant leader

President Jimmy Carter introduced millions of people to what it means to be a Baptist. In this episode, Amanda and Holly reflect on what he meant to our country and to both of them, as fellow Baptists, as well as his impact on faith freedom for all. They share how he is a shining example of the diversity of Baptists in our country as well as what it looks like to live out one’s faith freely and fully without forcing it on others.

SHOW NOTES

Segment 1 (starting at 00:38): A look back at the life of Jimmy Carter and his funeral service

The New York Times has an extensive obituary on President Jimmy Carter, which you can read online: Jimmy Carter, Peacemaking President Amid Crises, Is Dead at 100

You can watch a recording of President Carter’s funeral on the YouTube channel of the Washington National Cathedral: In Celebration of and in Thanksgiving for the Life of President James Carter – 1.9.25

Holly mentioned an article from The Washington Post titled “One chance to get this right, a look behind the prep for Carter’s funeral.” It is available online under the title “How do you create a funeral fit for a president? A look behind Carter’s.”

Holly mentioned speaking with Paul Baxley, the executive coordinator of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, who attended the service. CBF is the denominational home of President Carter’s church, Maranatha Baptist Church.

Segment 2 (starting at 12:41): Carter as a Baptist: Commitment, divisions, and the New Baptist Covenant

Amanda’s piece honoring President Carter in TIME magazine is available online: Jimmy Carter’s Commitment to Religious Liberty Should Guide Us All

Amanda read comments from President Carter in 1979, saying he thought the government should “stay out of the prayer business.” You can read the archived article on the website of The New York Times: President Is Opposed To School‐Prayer Bill

Amanda was quoted during a conversation on Jimmy Carter’s faith between Jason DeRose and Ailsa Chang on NPR’s All Things Considered, which also included a quote from the Rev. Dr. Martin Marty in 1976: Jimmy Carter’s complicated relationship to the church

For more on the history of the New Baptist Covenant, read this 2022 story by Mark Wingfield for Baptist News Global: New Baptist Covenant shifts gears to convene, connect and communicate

Amanda mentioned this story in The Washington Post about First Baptist Church of the City of Washington, D.C., which is the church where both she and President Carter were once members: Jimmy Carter attended this D.C. church. Now, it honors his legacy.

Segment 3 (starting 24:26): Carter’s legacy and example for where we are today

Amanda read President Carter’s comments from a 1977 press conference on the separation of church and state. You can read the transcript on the website of The New York Times: Transcript of the President’s News Conference With U.S. and Polish Journalists

You can see the never-before-released video of Amanda and BJC Executive Director Emeritus Brent Walker honoring Jimmy Carter at this link.

Respecting Religion is made possible by BJC’s generous donors. Your gift to BJC is tax-deductible, and you can support these conversations with a gift to BJC.

Next Episode

S6, Ep. 09: Threats to religious freedom from the Trump administration and a look at the growing resistance

In our second show of the second Trump administration, Amanda and Holly run through a list of recent events that point to a gross misunderstanding of what “religious freedom” means. They review the policy announcements made during the National Prayer Breakfast – including the creation of a task force to “eradicate anti-Christian bias” – and they look at how this administration’s accusations and actions are limiting the religious freedom of several Christian groups who serve others. They also discuss the growing resistance, including court challenges and two opportunities for action to share your views with Congress and the Trump administration. In the final segment, Amanda and Holly share how BJC is celebrating Black History Month with a special invitation.

SHOW NOTESSegment 1 (starting at 00:38): The National Prayer Breakfast and an anti-Chrisitan bias task force

Listen to Amanda and Holly’s previous conversations on the National Prayer Breakfast in the following episodes:

S1, Ep. 01 in 2020, beginning at 28:44 into that first episode of this podcast series.
S4, Ep. 11 in 2023, exploring the many questions it raises and how it differs from the National Day of Prayer.

After the second event tied to the National Prayer Breakfast, President Trump released an executive order creating the White House Faith Office and announced his appointments to the office.

On the same day, he released an executive order creating the Task Force to Eradicate Anti-Christian Bias. Amanda posted her reaction to that action on Bluesky.

In her testimony before Congress in 2018, Amanda spoke about the need to acknowledge and address violence and rhetoric directed against religious minorities in the U.S. and abroad.

Segment 2 (starting at 14:29): Executive order on education, lawsuits on immigration, and the rescinding of the sensitive locations memo

President Trump released an executive order titled “Expanding Educational Freedom and Opportunity for Families” and BJC shared our concerns in a statement about how such an act would undermine religious freedom.

The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship joined the lawsuit filed by Quaker congregations challenging the removal of the “sensitive locations” guidance as a violation of religious freedom protections under the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA). Read more about the lawsuit on our website. After we recorded this podcast, another lawsuit was filed by a number of religious denominations and organizations, including two supporting bodies of BJC: Fellowship Southwest and Convención Bautista Hispana de Texas. Read more from Baptist News Global.

Segment 3 (starting 24:10): Attacks on faith-based service providers and two opportunities for action

For more on the comments from Elon Musk, Mike Flynn and Vice President JD Vance targeting religious groups, read this article by Michelle Boorstein for The Washington Post: Attacks on Catholics, Lutherans suggest new Trump approach on religion

“Defunding and demonizing the government’s faith-based partners will make its job harder” is the title of t...