“The Religious Liberty Task Force is yet another example of how the Religious Right wields unprecedented authority within the Trump-Pence administration,” said Rachel Laser, president and CEO of Americans United. “To make matters worse, the DOJ is operating this task force behind closed doors without any oversight by the American people. That is unacceptable.”

Senate Republicans today will try to advance to the federal bench another Trump nominee with a hostile record on religious freedom. At 36, Allison Jones Rushing is President Donald Trump’s youngest judicial nominee yet for a lifetime appointment to a federal appellate court.

Last Thursday was Bring Your Bible To School Day, a relatively new “holiday” foisted upon us by the Religious Right organizations Focus on the Family and Alliance Defending Freedom. An annual event that began in 2014, Bring Your Bible to School Day encourages students to “share God’s love with their friends” – in other words, it’s the organizations’ attempt to turn schoolchildren into conservative Christian missionaries.