in effect
Executive Order 14291, signed May 1, 2025, creates a new federal advisory body called the Religious Liberty Commission. It directs this commission to study religious liberty in the United States, report on threats to it, and recommend policy actions to the White House.
The President will appoint up to 14 voting members to the commission, drawn from business, education, religious communities, and state government, plus three automatic seats for the Attorney General, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, and the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy. The commission must produce a comprehensive written report covering topics such as First Amendment rights of clergy and houses of worship, “debanking” of religious organizations, conscience protections in healthcare, parental rights over religious education, and voluntary prayer in public schools. Three advisory boards — one for religious leaders (up to 15 members), one for lay congregation members (up to 15), and one for legal experts (up to 10 attorneys plus the Attorney General) — will support the main commission. Members serve without pay but may be reimbursed for travel. The commission automatically terminates on July 4, 2026, unless the President extends it; the Department of Justice funds and staffs it within existing appropriations.
Faith-based organizations, houses of worship, religious schools, and individual believers who interact with federal programs or policies are the primary subjects of the commission’s mandate. Employers, healthcare workers, public school teachers and students, military chaplains, and parents seeking religious education options are also named as groups whose First Amendment situations the commission will examine.