The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops this week issued an annual report that commended the Trump administration for taking steps "to combat gender ideology" and "to support controversial expressions of Christianity in the public sphere."
The bishops' Committee for Religious Liberty released its 2026 "State of Religious Liberty in the United States" report, summarizing major developments in 2025 and outlining what Church leaders see as the most urgent threats and opportunities facing religious Americans in the year ahead.
In its executive summary, the USCCB credited President Donald Trump with taking "immediate steps" to push back against policies that had increasingly pressured religious individuals, schools, and faith-based organizations to conform to gender ideology.
The report specifically noted Trump's actions rescinding Biden-era policies that interpreted "sex" discrimination to include self-declared "gender identity," a move that had broad effects on federal contracts, education policy, and regulations impacting religious institutions.
The bishops said the administration's approach instead recognized the "biological reality of sex" and moved to protect women's and girls' sports while reducing the risk of government coercion against religious Americans who maintain traditional beliefs about males and females.
The report also commended the administration for investigating a state health department for allegedly "discriminating against faith-based organizations in the administration and/or enforcement of licensing requirements, including requiring any facilitation of sex-rejecting procedures."
In a climate where many Americans have watched faith-based hospitals, charities, and adoption agencies face lawsuits and mandates, the bishops framed the federal action as a meaningful step toward protecting conscience rights.
The USCCB also pointed to broader cultural shifts, saying the role of religion in public life became a major battleground in 2025, with Catholic institutions and services increasingly attacked by political leaders and media figures.
But the bishops noted the Trump administration took steps to defend public expressions of Christianity, even when those expressions are considered "controversial" by secular activists.
The report, released Tuesday, also highlighted Trump's creation of a Religious Liberty Commission, which includes several Catholic bishops as members and advisers.
It further expressed optimism about the administration's Anti-Christian Bias Task Force, the White House Faith Office, and other efforts intended to push back against hostility toward religion in public institutions.
At the same time, the bishops warned of what they called an alarming rise in political and anti-religious violence, citing attacks targeting Catholic institutions.
Archbishop Alexander K. Sample, chairman of the Committee for Religious Liberty, said the moment is especially significant as Americans prepare to celebrate 250 years of independence.
"It is a fitting time to reflect on the ideals expressed in the Declaration of Independence," Sample wrote, adding that Catholics should reflect on how the Church has enriched American life.
The report identified six major areas of concern for 2026, including political violence, federal grant restrictions, school choice, religious discrimination, and what the bishops called the continued need for "further repudiation of gender ideology."
The biggest religious liberty concerns expressed by the bishops were related to immigration policy.
For many Catholic leaders, the report suggests that the Trump administration's early actions have marked a decisive shift away from government-driven ideological coercion and back toward protecting religious freedom as a core American principle.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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