(NewsNation) — The Department of Education will soon issue new guidance protecting “the right to prayer” in America’s public schools, President Donald Trump announced Monday.

Trump, addressing an audience at a White House Religious Liberty Commission hearing, doubled down on his religious beliefs and reiterated claims that the separation of church and state punishes religious students.

“To have a great nation, you have to have religion,” Trump said. “I believe that so strongly.”

The hearing featured testimony from children and parents who claimed their religious freedom had been stifled in public school settings, as well as statements from commission members.

Trump said his administration is working to push the United States’ “identity as a nation under God.”

“America was founded on faith … When faith gets weaker, our country seems to get weaker,” Trump said.

He also outlined his intentions to scrap the Johnson Amendment — a ban on political campaign activity by nonprofits, including churches, established in 1954.

Trump: I got ‘a little involved’ with Smithsonian

While speaking at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C., Trump referenced his involvement in another local museum.

“I got a little involved with museums, you know. I had a little problem with the Smithsonian. We’d like a little more positivity — it was all about the bad things in our country, what about the good things we’ve done?”

The White House has pressed for changes at the history museum — a leading provider of classroom curriculum for the nation — as the U.S. approaches its 250th anniversary.

In a letter last month to the Smithsonian Institution, the White House said its review is meant to “assess tone, historical framing, and alignment with American ideals.”

Teachers have pushed back on the initiative.

“We don’t want a partisan history,” Katharina Matro, a teacher in Bethesda, Maryland, told the Associated Press. “We want the history that’s produced by real historians.”

What is the White House Religious Liberty Commission?

Trump established the commission in May. It’s comprised of up to 14 members, appointed by the president, whose goal is to “serve as educated representatives of various sectors of society” in discussions about “religious liberty for all Americans.”

Members are tasked with making a “comprehensive report” about the nation’s religious pluralism and ways to preserve it.

Notable names participating in the commission include “Dr. Phil” McGraw, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson and New York Archbishop Cardinal Timothy Dolan.

Patrick supports prayer and the posting of the Ten Commandments in public schools, while McGraw praised Trump for bringing religion “back to the White House.”

The commission will last until July 4, 2026, unless Trump extends its term.