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MANHATTAN (CN) — A coalition of interfaith religious groups filed a civil lawsuit Monday in New York federal court against the Trump administration over its Religious Liberty Commission, which they say unconstitutionally promotes conservative Christian nationalism.
The religious organizations — Interfaith Alliance, Muslims for Progressive Values, Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund, and Hindus for Human Rights — say in their complaint President Donald Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi established the commission from “a largely homogenous group” rooted in Judeo-Christian beliefs, excluding the perspectives of America’s diverse array of religious minorities. They claim the commission is violating the Constitution’s commitment to religious freedom and its opposition to the government favoring one religious tradition or viewpoint.
“Instead, its members, consisting of almost exclusively Christians with one Orthodox Jewish Rabbi, represent the narrow perspective that America was founded as a ‘Judeo-Christian’ nation and must be guided by Biblical principles,” they wrote in their complaint. “In President Trump’s own words, the commission is part of his administration’s efforts to ‘protect the Judeo-Christian principles of our founding.’”
When Trump signed an executive order establishing a presidential commission on religious liberty in May 2025, he forthrightly questioned principles of separating religion from the federal government enshrined in the Constitution.
“They say separation between church and state … I said, ‘All right, let’s forget about that for one time,’” Trump said at the National Day of Prayer event at the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington.
“We’re bringing back religion in our country,” he pledged. “We must always be one nation under God, a phrase that they would like to get rid of, the radical left.”
The groups name Trump, Bondi and the Department of Justice as codefendants, along with Mary Margaret Bush, the designated federal officer of the Religious Liberty Commission.
“Religious freedom for some is religious freedom for none,” Reverend Paul Brandeis Raushenbush, president and CEO of Interfaith Alliance, said Monday while announcing the four-count civil complaint against the Trump administration. “The government has no right to pick and choose which religious beliefs to promote, and which to marginalize. The Trump administration has failed to uphold our country’s proud religious freedom tradition, and we will hold them accountable.”
A Department of Justice spokesperson defended the commission and the administration on Monday.
“Through the Religious Liberty Commission’s hearings, President Trump has created opportunities for Americans from all walks of life to share their testimonies, concerns, and recommendations to better support Civil Rights and religious freedom in the United States,” the agency spokesperson said a statement. “The Department of Justice’s mission is to uphold the rule of law and ensure fair and impartial justice for all Americans, which is an endeavor every American should support regardless of their political beliefs.”
In their complaint, filed in the Southern District of New York, the groups say the commission is comprised of Protestant, Catholic and Jewish members, but contains no Muslims or other members of minority religious groups.
“Nor does the commission have any members who advocate for a robust conception of separation of church and state,” they wrote. “And no member of the commission advocates for a view of religious liberty that both respects the free exercise clause and protects the civil rights of other groups, such as LGBTQ+ communities.”
The groups point out that Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, who Trump tapped to chair the commission, has defended Texas’ now-abrogated ban on same-sex marriage as constitutional and argued that “there is no separation of church and state. It was not in the Constitution.”
They also note in the complaint that Patrick has pushed for bills that unconstitutionally promote Judaism and Christianity, including a priority piece of legislation that would require the Ten Commandments to be posted in public school classrooms.
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