Photo Credits: The Daily Caller

Donald Trump attended a meeting on religious freedom at U.N. headquarters and made a speech about the importance of religion and the need to protect it. Trump ditched a United Nations summit on climate change to speak about religion instead and to speak about the right to follow one’s religious convictions as the most fundamental right to a successful society. “The United States is founded on the principle that our rights do not come from government, they come from God. This immortal truth is proclaimed in our Declaration of Independence and enshrined in our First Amendment to our Constitution, Bill of Rights,” Trump said, as New York Post reports. “Our founders understood that no right is more fundamental to a peaceful, prosperous and virtuous society than the right to follow one’s religious convictions. Regrettably, religious freedom enjoyed by American citizens is rare in the world,” he added.

During his speech, Trump also announced an additional $25 million in funding “to protect religious freedom, sites and relics. While Trump was talking about religion, the climate summit — which is a centerpiece of this year's U.N. schedule — was not on his agenda at all. This is how he made his political priorities clear. He focused on religion and religious freedom which is something that resonates with his evangelical supporters while climate change is seen as a hoax by his administration. According to Dallas-based pastor, Robert Jeffress, this action already had its effects on Trump's religious voters. "What president in history would have the guts to do what President Trump is doing?" Jeffress said, as Time reports. "And it's this kind of leadership that is absolutely infuriating the president's enemies, but it's also energizing his base, especially his religious base of voters."

But there is the other side of this story and it is about what Trump's administration has actually done. In 2017 Trump has signed executive orders in order to limit travel to U.S. for people from seven countries and refugees who do not possess valid travel documents. Those orders have also been known as the Muslim ban. While speaking about protecting religious freedom all around the world and calling on world leaders not to persecute people over their faith, Trump has done something completely opposite in his own country. As Patheos reports, The Freedom From Religion Foundation pointed out the hypocrisy in Trump’s calls for religious freedom. While holding himself out as a beacon of religious liberty, he has banned Muslims from several countries. When Trump called for a “total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States,” he obviously sacrificed the religious liberty of Muslims.