When a Turkish court released American Andrew Brunson after two years of confinement, it was a profound moment for Christian evangelicals, who had made the pastor a symbol of religious persecution worldwide. In Brunson’s case and others, they had prayed for deliverance. And President Donald Trump, they said, delivered.
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Under the radar, government agencies, too, are deliberately pushing an agenda that evangelicals support. At the Department of Education, Secretary Betsy DeVos has embraced school choice and private schools, to the benefit of religious academies, and is weighing rules that would make it easier for faith-based colleges to access federal funding.
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Human rights groups view the activity with deep suspicion and say the DOJ task force in particular could lead to government-sanctioned discrimination based on religious grounds. “It’s a very dangerous move,” said Matt Dann, director of government affairs at the Secular Coalition for America. “We think they’re paving the way for some broad-based religious exemptions.”
