The administration of former US President Donald Trump has ignited a fresh constitutional debate after top officials and federal agencies used official government social media channels to disseminate explicitly Christian messages during Christmas week. First Amendment advocates have sounded the alarm, warning of a critical erosion of the traditional firewall between church and state.
Government Accounts Promote Sectarian Messages
In a series of posts that sharply diverged from generalised holiday greetings, key figures within the Trump administration made direct religious declarations. The Department of Homeland Security shared videos on the platform X with the caption "Christ is Born!" Another post from the agency stated "we are blessed to share a nation and a Savior," accompanied by a stylised video montage of American Christmas scenes.
These messages were echoed and shared by the White House. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth wrote, "Merry Christmas to all. Today we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ." Similarly, Secretary of State Marco Rubio referenced "the hope of Eternal Life through Christ."
Other officials joined in. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins claimed in a video that the American spirit flows from the first Christmas and "the gift of his son and our savior, Jesus Christ." The official account for the Department of Labor posted the phrase "Let Earth Receive Her King."
Constitutional Warnings and Criticisms
The overtly sectarian nature of the posts prompted immediate backlash from advocates for religious freedom and the separation of church and state. The First Amendment's Establishment Clause expressly prohibits the government from establishing a religion or showing preference for one faith over another.
Rachel Laser, president of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, labelled the posts "one more example of the Christian Nationalist rhetoric the Trump administration has disseminated since Day One in office." She emphasised that the constitutional promise of church-state separation is what has allowed religious diversity to thrive in America.
Alex Nowrasteh of the libertarian Cato Institute succinctly noted, "Americans don’t share a religion. Our state is secular." Former Homeland Security spokesperson Alex Howard criticised the move as an "inappropriate use of official government channels." When faced with criticism and requests for comment, administration officials reportedly responded simply with "Merry Christmas."
Broader Context of Evangelical Influence
This incident did not occur in isolation. It aligns with a documented expansion of evangelical Christian influence within the Trump administration. The Justice Department has been tasked with rooting out perceived 'anti-Christian bias' and prosecuting anti-Christian violence.
Key developments include:
- The establishment of a Religious Liberty Commission within the Justice Department.
- The appointment of televangelist Paula White-Cain as a senior adviser to the White House Faith Office.
- A promise to repeal the Johnson Amendment, which prevents tax-exempt organisations like churches from endorsing political candidates.
- An IRS indication that it would allow churches to endorse political candidates without losing tax-exempt status.
This political alignment is significant. While nearly one in four Americans identify as evangelical Christians, they played a crucial role in Trump's electoral victories, with roughly 80% of white evangelical voters supporting him in 2024.
The trend has not gone unnoticed by the judiciary. Liberal Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor warned in 2022 that the conservative-majority court was "continues to dismantle the wall of separation between church and state that the Framers fought to build," treating it as a "constitutional slogan, not a constitutional commitment."
The use of official government platforms to promote specific religious doctrine during the 2025 Christmas period stands as a potent symbol of this ongoing constitutional and cultural clash, raising fundamental questions about the nature of governance and religious freedom in the United States.
