On Thursday, Jan. 16, President Joe Biden will perform one of his last acts in office by issuing a decree extolling the importance of religious freedom throughout our nation's history.  

For many Christians, it will be a moment of bitter irony. Every president since 1993 has made this annual declaration to commemorate Religious Freedom Day. Sadly, none has harmed freedom of religion more than America's second Catholic president.  

Four days later, Donald Trump, 45th president of the United States, will also become our 47th president. One of his first official acts as he returns to office must be to repair the damage done by his predecessor.  

To say that Biden’s record on this subject had been a disappointment is an understatement. The Biden-Harris administration has attacked medical conscience rights, failed to protect Catholic churches from abortion vandalism and zealously promoted gender ideology. No wonder that in 2024 Catholic voters favored Trump over Harris by a double-digit margin.  

At this stage, it’s probably more important we focus on how President-elect Trump can restore our precious heritage. My organization, the Conscience Project, has produced a short video proposing four steps Mr. Trump can take to begin to restore religious liberty in America. While it’s not an exhaustive list by any means, I recommend that you check it out here: 

The first step we suggest is to restore the Conscience and Religious Freedom Division in the Office of Civil Rights at the Department of Health and Human Services. The first Trump administration set up a specially trained group to investigate allegations that medical conscience rights had been violated. The Biden administration disbanded it. This, predictably, has left Christians — particularly those who object to abortions and gender ideology — to hang out to dry. Rehabilitating the division would be a powerful tool for protecting people of faith. 

The second step we identify is to reform the Department of Justice. Under Biden, it has repeatedly targeted people who resist progressive extremism. Doctors who oppose transgender procedures on minors, together with pro-life advocates, have been in the crosshairs of Biden’s Department of Justice (DOJ). At the same time, it has shown no interest in the fact that more than 400 Catholic churches have been vandalized by pro-abortion zealots. Put bluntly, the DOJ has gone rogue. Trump must rein it in.
A third step is to scrap recent rulemaking that injected the poison of gender ideology into our nation’s foster-care system. Biden finalized a new rule requiring foster families to agree to affirm gender insanity — that is, parents must agree to affirm gender dysphoria to foster children who deny their biological reality.  

Under this new rule, states must block dissenting prospective foster families from fostering these particularly vulnerable kids. Christians assume the lion’s share of fostering in America, so imposing these criteria will close doors to loving homes in a particularly sinister affront to religious freedom.  

Finally, we strongly encourage President-elect Trump to maintain the Supreme Court's originalist majority. During his first term, he appointed Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett — three jurists committed to upholding the Constitution’s robust protection of religious rights. As it is possible that one or more members of the Court will retire in the coming years, nominating justices faithful to the original meaning of our Constitution can further entrench a strong, pro-religious-rights majority on the Court.  
After four years of ingeniously malicious assaults on religious rights by the Biden administration, it’s crucial that the incoming Trump administration take urgent action. Committing to the key reforms identified by the Conscience Project could mean we actually have something to celebrate by the time next year’s presidential proclamation commemorating Religious Freedom Day is issued.