The Freedom From Religion Foundation is strongly condemning President Donald Trump’s latest effort to entangle religion and government through a White House event rewarding wealthy business leaders for promoting religion and aligning the federal government with sectarian interests.
FFRF is also taking issue with Trump’s derogatory joke about atheists at Monday’s luncheon in the White House’s State Dining Room. During the event, Trump said: “And you’re all believers… Is there an atheist in the room? Any atheists? I don’t think so. I wouldn’t want to raise my hand if I were. You’d be in big trouble.”
“Trump is not only once again blurring the line between state and church,” says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor, “but also treating atheists and other nonbelievers as targets.”
She added: “A president shouldn’t be rewarding CEOs for promoting religion or using his public office to advance a ‘faith-centered’ agenda. The government must serve all Americans, not just the religious.”
Trump welcomed more than 60 CEOs and business leaders who donate to faith-based charities. The event was organized by the White House Faith Office, which Trump established by executive order in February. Trump used the occasion to praise religious influence in public life, attack his political opponents and further promote his religious-political agenda.
At the event, during which Trump used an expletive, he continued to erase the existence of nonreligious Americans, telling attendees, “Our country was founded by pilgrims and believers, and every generation since Americans of faith have built our communities and forged new industries and enriched our country by millions and millions of people and ways.” He insisted that “the steady compass of faith has guided the strong hands of American workers, builders and entrepreneurs, like really no other.” He went on to say that “we have to bring religion back into the country. And we’re starting to do that, I think, at a very high level.”
Trump claimed that his 2024 electoral victory was due to Democrats trying to “take God and religion out of your lives,” and reiterated his intent to dismantle the Johnson Amendment — the federal law that bars tax-exempt organizations from endorsing political candidates. The IRS recently has indicated it now considers that the Johnson Amendment permits churches (but not other 501(c)(3) entities) to tell their members who to vote for.
High-profile donors attending the luncheon included Hobby Lobby founder David Green, who underwrote the Bible Museum, Jockey International CEO Debra Waller and leaders from Goodyear and JCPenney. A complete attendee list was not released, but Cabinet officials present included Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Small Business Administration Administrator Kelly Loeffler.
The event concluded with a prayer led by Paula White, director of the White House Faith Office, followed by a Christian worship song.
“Trump’s repeated attempts to intertwine religion with government policy betray his duty to our secular Constitution,” Gaylor added. “This event is about building a theocratic political machine with the help of wealthy allies. Faith-based favoritism has no place in a secular democracy.”
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a U.S.-based nonprofit dedicated to promoting the constitutional principle of separation between state and church and educating the public on matters of nontheism. With more than 42,000 members, FFRF advocates for freethinkers’ rights across the globe. For more information, visit ffrf.org.
