The Price of Protection

Bettina Krause March/April 2025

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“Together we will make America stronger and prouder, safer, freer, greater, and more faithful to our God than ever before.”

—President Donald J. Trump, speaking to faith leaders February 6 at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C.

What are we to make of the first weeks of the new presidential administration? With headlines coming thick and fast and events moving at an unprecedented clip, it’s difficult to sort out what’s relevant, what’s hype, what will have long-lasting significance, and what’s mainly smoke and noise.

For those concerned about the future of religious freedom in America, though, last month’s National Prayer Breakfast provided a few moments of clarity.

President Trump spoke at two events in Washington, D.C., each speech sure to satisfy those who believe that wielding political power is Christianity’s last best hope for “taking the nation back for God.”

“Deep in the soul of every patriot is the knowledge that God has a special plan and a glorious mission for America,” he told senators and representatives at the Capitol Hill event. Later that morning he told a celebratory crowd at the Washington Hilton hotel, “I’m a believer like you’re a believer. And we want a believer in this position.” He announced a task force that would “eradicate all forms of anti-Christian targeting and discrimination within the federal government,” and promised that, while he’s in the White House, “we will bring our country back together as one nation under God.”

The suggestion was unmistakable: American identity can’t be separated from the Christian faith. To paraphrase the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, some dangerous ideas come as a wolf dressed in sheep’s clothing. This wolf came as a wolf.

As some in the Hilton ballroom were enjoying the vibes of this new era of pro-Christian political rhetoric, other Christians grappled with fallout from some of the administration’s actions. A few days earlier Christian aid organizations that have been administering lifesaving aid internationally for decades—World Relief, Church World Service, Caritas, Catholic Relief Services, and others—said they’d been forced to shutter aid operations and terminate or furlough many of their employees.

A few days after the prayer breakfast, a group of 27 faith groups filed a lawsuit, following on the heels of an earlier one filed by Quaker groups. They’re arguing that their First Amendment religious freedom right to meet and worship has been profoundly chilled by new immigration enforcement guidelines that allow raids on church properties.

It’s Not About Donald Trump

Part of the struggle to talk productively about the appropriate relationship between faith and political power is that simply raising the question triggers our partisan identity reflexes. Whether we lean left or right, we find ourselves thinking and responding in ways that mirror the talking points of our preferred political tribe. It’s natural, and we all do it.

But the real issue here is deeper than partisan politics. It’s not about specific policies or legislative proposals. It’s not about who’s been chosen to head various federal agencies. It’s not about being woke or anti-woke. It’s not about being Republican or Democrat or MAGA. It’s not even about who currently occupies the office of the president. In fact, it’s not really about the political dynamics of 2025.

The fundamental question here is one of Christian self-understanding. Should Christians celebrate or recoil when a political candidate tells them, as Donald Trump told Christian leaders and broadcasters last year, that returning him to the White House would give them a stronger political voice, and “you’re going to be using that power at a level that you’ve never used it before”?

Taking the Lord’s Name in Vain

Christianity is not a political ideology, nor does it prescribe political objectives. In fact, the core teachings of Christianity make it spectacularly ill-suited to any variety of empire building. Christ’s commands to turn the other cheek (Matthew 5:39), love our enemies (Matthew 5:44), do good to those who hate us (Luke 6:27) and prioritize God over money (Matthew 6:24) would make for an unusual approach to economic and foreign policy. His radical humility—“whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant” (Mark 10:43, NIV)*—would bring our current electoral system to a grinding halt.

Since Christianity isn’t a political ideology, there’s also no monolithic “Christian position” on every question of public policy. The Christian Scriptures do not provide a neat blueprint for navigating issues of DEI, immigration law, education policy, or foreign aid. Christians can and do use their faith-shaped values to weigh in and try to influence political solutions around these questions. Yet they can disagree, in good faith, on how Christian values are best interpreted and reflected in public policy. Quite simply, Christianity, writ large, does not have a political platform.

The so-called Christian vote in America is a misnomer—it’s not a voting bloc held together by spiritual consensus or by universally agreed-upon Christian objectives. Which raises the question: What is it exactly that makes it “Christian”?

Real Challenges, Dangerous Solutions

There’s a reason, of course, that more and more Christians in America are seeing politics as an extension of their faith. The cultural tide has turned against some of their deeply held values and moral convictions. It’s a trend that became obvious in the 1980s, and it’s been picking up speed ever since. Today Christians who assert legitimate religious freedom concerns are sometimes treated with suspicion and downright hostility. While some on the political left complain of right-wing intolerance and bigotry, those tendencies are by no means a one-way street. And, as Liberty magazine continues to track, there are also efforts at the state levels and in the courts to narrow legal exemptions for religious organizations in ways that make it harder for them to operate their schools, charities, and institutions. Some of these efforts are clearly driven by antagonism toward certain expressions of Christianity.

But Christians already have a guidebook for how to live, work, and worship as a minority within a hostile culture—it’s called the New Testament, and it doesn’t advocate an alliance between the political and spiritual realms.

Whether it’s Hungary, Poland, Russia, Brazil, or America, Christians who hitch their fortunes and their reputations to a political protector are playing a dangerous game. Once embarked on that path, it’s difficult to deviate. There is increasing pressure to rationalize the actions of one’s protecter, to defend the person or party that has claimed our allegiance, to adjust spiritual convictions to fit political needs, to convince ourselves that the ends have justified the means.

Counting the Cost

The Christian New Testament tells the story known as the temptation of Christ, which describes a conversation between the devil and Jesus. The tempter is probing Jesus, seeking a weakness, offering seductive temporal benefits that, if accepted, would derail Jesus from His spiritual mission.

The devil leads Jesus to a high place and unveils an image of all the kingdoms of the world. Worship me, says the devil, and “I will give you all their authority and splendor.”

But Jesus answers, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only’ ” (Luke 4:5-8, NIV).

For some American Christians, their loyalty has been divided. And for that reason alone, the price of political protection is already too high.

Article Author: Bettina Krause

Bettina Krause is the editor of Liberty magazine.

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