Home Christian News Trump, Confirmed a Presbyterian, Now Identifies as ‘Non-Denominational Christian’

Trump, Confirmed a Presbyterian, Now Identifies as ‘Non-Denominational Christian’

In 2018, Vice President Mike Pence halted funds for what he said were “ineffective” U.N. programs and announced the money would go to aid religious minorities in northern Iraq via the U.S. Agency for International Development and partnerships with faith-based groups, such as the Knights of Columbus.

However, Trump did not acknowledge ongoing issues with those efforts: While some Christians have moved back to those locations, others have said that they are unlikely to do so due to lingering security concerns.

Trump promised that he would continue to make religious freedom a priority should he win a second term. “As I said at the United Nations, America stands with believers in every country who ask only for the freedom to live according to the faith that is within their own hearts,” he said. “And we will continue to do so for as long as I am President.”

The president shed light on the work of the White House Faith and Opportunity Initiative, a body created by his administration via a May 2018 executive order, which effectively replaced the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships that was created under President George W. Bush and expanded under President Barack Obama with a slightly different name.

President Trump prays with American pastor Andrew Brunson in the Oval Office of the White House on Oct. 13, 2018, in Washington. Brunson returned to the U.S. around midday after he was freed Friday, from nearly two years of detention in Turkey. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Trump claimed to have expanded faith outreach in the interview. “Under my Administration,” the president noted, “we have established an office or liaison in every Cabinet agency for the first time.”

But the exact mission and work of his White House faith office has largely remained a mystery. While he created the agency more than two years ago, the president did not staff it until November 2019, when he tapped White to head the initiative.

However, Trump did detail one of its core projects: “Led by Pastor Paula White, this initiative is working to remove barriers which have unfairly prevented faith-based organizations from working with or receiving funding from the federal government.”

But given how often the White House regularly welcomes evangelical Christian leaders inside its walls, and indeed its deliberations on everything from Israel to prison reform, the exact role of the faith office remains unclear.


Jack Jenkins and Maina Mwaura contributed to this article.

This article originally appeared on ReligionNews.com.