(RNS) — Surrounded by faith leaders singing praise songs like “Amazing Grace” and “Great Are You Lord,” President Donald Trump presided over a National Day of Prayer ceremony at the White House on Thursday (May 1), which culminated with the president signing an executive order establishing a new national Religious Liberty Commission.
Led by Chairman Dan Patrick, the Republican lieutenant governor of Texas, and Vice Chair Ben Carson, a popular author, surgeon and former Trump administration official, the 13-member commission is charged with creating a report on the “foundations of religious liberty in America” and the impact of religious liberty on American culture. It is also intended to detail “current threats to domestic religious liberty” and create programs to celebrate religious pluralism.
Among the commission’s members are Trump allies, including White House faith adviser Paula White, talk show host and author Eric Metaxas and evangelist Franklin Graham, head of Samaritan’s Purse, along with other faith leaders like Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York, Minnesota Bishop Robert Barron of the popular Word on Fire media ministry, Rabbi Meir Soloveichik of Congregation Shearith Israel in New York and talk show host Phil McGraw.
“Mr. President, I can’t tell you, first off, how proud I am to see religion coming back to the White House. God bless you,” McGraw, better known as “Dr. Phil,” told Trump during the White House ceremony. “God bless you.”
According to the executive order, the commission is cha …