A Trump administration commission has suggested that faith should have a greater role in government and schools. 

The Religious Liberty Commission, established by Donald Trump last May, has released a report which recommends changes to “build bridges between church and state”, a departure from the long-established tradition of separation.

Its report includes policy and philosophy promoting the idea of religious expression in the public square. It also recounts testimonies of witnesses who raised concerns about antisemitism and suspected discrimination against Christians under Democrat-run governments. 

Recommendations also include scrapping a law which prevents tax-exempt religious groups from political activity, dispensation for healthcare workers to refuse vaccinations on the grounds of faith, and the right for students to have prayer time at school. 

Army leaders should also be educated on religious freedom, with soldiers taught “the importance of spiritual fitness in military readiness”, according to the 224-page report.

“We saved religion, it was going down”, Trump declared as he championed the findings at the Faith & Freedom Coalition conference on Friday. The report begins with a quotation from the President: “for America to be a great nation, we must always be one nation under God.”

The body, which met President Trump in the Oval Office, has been criticised for reflecting a “narrow, Christian nationalist worldview” by the Interfaith Alliance. 

Rev Paul Raushenbush, president of the group, characterised the report as a “wishlist of divisive, unpopular ideas far-right religious groups have pushed for years”.