President Donald Trump spent part of his day mocking prayer—and then ordered public schools to do more of it.
As the president attended a breakfast in Washington on Thursday—where he joked about Speaker Mike Johnson’s tendency to pray before meals—the education department issued new guidelines urging students to pray in public schools as a condition of federal funding.
In a bid to Make America Pray Again, the guidelines dictate that “public schools must permit students to pray privately and quietly by themselves, whether in class, at an athletic event, or before a meal.”
Students will also be encouraged to “pray in groups”, both on and off campus, and “may also pray in a speaking voice on the same terms as any other student might engage in non-religious speech.”
Schools can not mandate prayer, but must now annually certify in writing that they are protecting prayer and complying with the new rules or risk funding. State education agencies will also be required to report complaints alleging violations to the federal government, the guidelines say.
The guidance is part of a longstanding push by Trump to champion religious freedom through his second term, partly in a nod to the evangelical Christians who helped him win back the White House.
They came as the 79-year-old president attended this year’s National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, where he once again pushed false claims that the 2020 election was “stolen,” railed against outspoken GOP Congressman Thomas Massie, and questioned whether he was going to heaven.
“I really think I probably should make it,” he mused. “I mean I’m not a perfect candidate, but I did a hell of a lot of good for perfect people. That’s for sure.”
But the president also mocked House Speaker Mike Johnson, an Evangelical Christian, who is known for praying before meals.
Describing Johnson as “a very religious person,” Trump admitted that he uses Johnson’s faith to curry favor with God, and recounted how Johnson occasionally asks “‘Sir, may we pray?’” before lunch.
“‘I’ll say, Excuse me? We’re having lunch,’” Trump replied. “It’s ok with me.”
“God is watching him,” he added. “I don’t know about me. So I hang around with him because I feel like I’m protected with him.”
The education guidelines come after Trump last year urged Americans to dedicate one hour a week to prayer, preferably with groups of at least 10 other people, as part of a new initiative designed to “bring back religion in America.”
Trump has also pushed his own souvenir bible for sale, created a faith office in the White House, and believes God spared him from assassination so he could win back the presidency.
“It remains my firm conviction that God alone saved me that day for a righteous purpose: to restore our beloved Republic to greatness and to rescue our Nation from those who seek its ruin,” he said on the anniversary of the assassination attempt in July.
But critics say such moves are designed to reject religious diversity in order to prioritize one set of Christian beliefs.
“Once again, President Trump is using religion to promote his self-aggrandizement and political agenda, all the while perpetuating the lie that America is a Christian nation and that religion is under attack,” Rachel Laser, chief executive of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, said after Trump announced his America Prays initiative.
“People who care about religious freedom don’t need to be told when or how to pray; they need leaders who are committed to separation of church and state.”
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