"Far too often in our national life, religion is treated … as a problem or annoyance to be managed, restricted or sidelined," the executive summary of the commission's recently released report states.
Commission member Eric Metaxas says the Founding Fathers built religious freedom into the very fabric of the nation, but that has been forgotten or ignored.
"We have to know the stories of our founding," he insists. "If we don't understand that stuff, we can't rely on a few experts to take care of it."
The report, which spans more than 200 pages and was compiled from findings from the commission's seven hearings since President Donald Trump established it last year, drew on the testimony of more than 100 witnesses regarding growing encroachments.
The witnesses were diverse in ages, backgrounds and faith traditions. Some were mothers who were lied to by their children's school administrators. Some were children who were bullied because of their religious beliefs. Others were healthcare workers who faced retaliation for opposing transgender procedures, as well as workers and military service members whose careers were destroyed because they objected to vaccine mandates.
From workplace discrimination to antisemitism on college campuses to churches being forced to shut their doors during the COVID-19 pandemic, Metaxas says religious freedom has been, and is, under attack in the U.S.
"The stories we heard were nightmares," he says. "How many people have been persecuted for their Christian faith in America? This is not China. This is not North Korea."
The report concluded that the metaphor of "a wall of separation between church and state," which is not found in the U.S. Constitution, has been misapplied and weaponized to exclude religious Americans from the public square.
During the final commission hearing in April, Texas Lt. Gov. and Chairman Dan Patrick said the phrase, which comes from a letter Thomas Jefferson wrote about religious liberty to the Danbury Baptists in 1802, has become "the biggest lie that's been told in America since our founding."
The Christian Post notes Patrick reiterated his assertion during the gathering of the commissioners in the Oval Office on Friday, warning that "the Left has used that one phrase ... to batter and hammer people of faith for the last 70 to 80 years."
Meanwhile, Metaxas says a government usurper posing as a religion is at the gate and, in fact, is already inside.
"There are all kinds of things that are not protected by religious liberty, and a lot of radical Islam falls under that," he asserts. "They're gaming the system by pretending it's a religion, and to some extent, it's not at all a religion."
He says "Islamofascism," especially as expressed by Sharia law, is actually a government, not a religion, and it is a threat.
"We all have to understand what is a threat," Metaxas states. "Communism and socialism are threats to America, period. Islamofascism is a threat."
