Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is making headlines after an Oval Office appearance where he repeated a claim that has sparked renewed discussion about the U.S. Constitution and religious freedom.
As first detailed by Baptist News, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who chairs President Donald Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission, praised the president during a White House event before making a series of statements about religion and government. Standing behind Trump, Patrick declared:
“No president in our history has stood more for God than this president. He has been unashamed to speak the word of Jesus. He’s been unashamed to speak up for all faiths.”
He also argued that religious freedom had been under attack, saying:
“We saved religion, it was going down.”
While we know Christian and religious conservatives have supported Trump and his policies, many other Americans believe Trump to be the opposite; that is, non-religious.
TX Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick: Separation of church and state should have no power over people ever again in America https://t.co/fOXiyoRuZJ pic.twitter.com/n7dRT9iTxC
— FactPost (@factpostnews) June 26, 2026
RELATED: Is Trump Using ‘Anti-Christian Bias’ to Roll Back LGBTQ Protections?
The Claim That Drew the Most Attention
Patrick’s widely discussed comment centered on the phrase “separation of church and state.” Referring to testimony gathered by the Religious Liberty Commission, he said many witnesses believed the phrase had been used against people of faith. Patrick added that “separation of church and state” is not found in the Constitution and later stated:
“There is no such thing as ‘separation of church and state’ in the Constitution.”
It is true that the exact phrase does not appear in the U.S. Constitution. However, the First Amendment states that Congress “shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” Those two clauses have long formed the constitutional basis for preventing the government from establishing or favoring a religion while also protecting Americans’ right to practice their faith.
The phrase “separation of church and state” comes from an 1802 letter written by Thomas Jefferson and has since been cited by courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court, when interpreting the First Amendment.
A Different Perspective
Political commentator Heather Delaney Reese pushed back on Patrick’s remarks, arguing that America’s founders intentionally created constitutional protections after witnessing religious persecution.
She said:
“This country was not founded as a Christian nation. It was founded by people fleeing religious persecution.”
Reese added that the First Amendment was designed to protect citizens from a government that could use religion as a political tool, rather than to limit religion itself.
Why It Matters
For LGBTQ Americans and other minority communities, debates over church and state often extend beyond constitutional theory. They can influence conversations about marriage equality, anti discrimination protections, education, health care, and other civil rights issues.
Whether one agrees with Patrick’s interpretation or not, his remarks have once again placed the relationship between religion and government at the center of the national conversation.