Eradicating Dissent: How Trump’s Executive Order Signals a Theocratic Crackdown : A Nation Reshaped by Faith and Fear

On February 6, 2025, President Donald Trump issued an executive order titled “Eradicating Anti-Christian Bias.” On the surface, it appears to be a defense of religious freedom—framed as a necessary measure to protect Christians from government discrimination. But a closer examination reveals something far more sinister: the groundwork for a theocratic state, where religious nationalism dictates policy, silences dissent, and redefines American identity under a single faith.

This order does not exist in a vacuum. It follows Trump’s National Prayer Breakfast speech, where he declared, “We have to bring religion back. We have to bring it back much stronger.” This was not a vague spiritual plea—it was a direct call to re-center governance around Christianity. Just as troubling, his administration has already begun the systematic removal of secular and minority religious protections, replacing them with policies that elevate Christian nationalist ideology above all else.

But what happens when a government begins selectively protecting religious rights while ignoring, or outright violating, the rights of others? History gives us a grim answer. From Franco’s Spain to modern-day Russia, regimes that merge faith with state power often weaponize religious identity to silence opposition, suppress scientific discourse, and justify persecution. The United States is now treading a similar path—one that eerily mirrors not just real-world theocracies, but also the dystopian nightmare of Gilead from The Handmaid’s Tale.

Targeting the “Enemies of Christianity”

Trump’s Task Force to Eradicate Anti-Christian Bias, established by this executive order, is not just another faith-based initiative. It is an unprecedented expansion of federal power aimed at enforcing a narrow, politicized version of Christianity. By directing 17 federal agencies—including the Department of Justice, the FBI, the Department of Education, and Homeland Security—to investigate and eliminate so-called “anti-Christian bias,” the government is creating a framework to purge secular and dissenting voices from policymaking, law enforcement, and public institutions.

This move raises an urgent question: Who, exactly, is considered “anti-Christian” under this order?

LGBTQ+ communities? Trump’s past rhetoric and policies suggest they will be a primary target. His recent executive orders restricting transgender rights already signal an aggressive rollback of LGBTQ+ protections under the guise of religious liberty.

Scientists and educators? The administration’s alignment with Christian nationalist groups means that schools and universities may soon be pressured to remove secular curriculum, promote religious teachings in public education, and weaken science-based policies.

Non-Christian faiths? The order explicitly frames Christianity as the persecuted faith while ignoring rising hate crimes against Muslims, Jews, and other religious minorities. This is a dangerous precedent—one that elevates Christian identity above all others in the eyes of the government.

The Surveillance State and Suppression of Dissent

One of the most chilling aspects of this executive order is its potential for mass surveillance and political targeting. While framed as a mechanism to “monitor anti-Christian discrimination,” it could easily be weaponized to track activists, educators, and organizations that challenge the administration’s religious agenda.

Elon Musk’s Starlink system has already been tested as a domestic surveillance tool, allowing for real-time tracking and communication interception. If federal agencies, under the guise of “protecting Christianity,” begin using advanced AI and satellite technology to monitor dissenting groups, the United States will have entered a new era of political control—one where religious ideology is enforced through digital authoritarianism.

The FBI’s role in this Task Force is particularly concerning. Under Trump’s leadership, law enforcement agencies have already been reshaped to align with his political ideology. Past surveillance programs, like COINTELPRO, targeted civil rights leaders under the pretense of national security. With this new executive order, the same tactics could be applied to journalists, activists, and scholars who challenge the administration’s religious policies.

Guantanamo and the Looming Threat of Religious Incarceration

As the government consolidates its religious control, detention centers like Guantanamo Bay (Gitmo) present another terrifying possibility. Originally established to house suspected terrorists outside the reach of U.S. law, Gitmo has long been a legal black hole—a place where due process is suspended, torture is employed, and human rights abuses are shielded from public scrutiny.

But what if Gitmo’s role is about to expand?

With growing calls from the far-right faction of the GOP to use Guantanamo for deportations, a new concern arises: Could the same justification be used to detain American citizens deemed “enemies of the state” under this theocratic government?

This is not a wild conspiracy—it’s a historical reality. Authoritarian regimes have always created special detention sites to imprison dissidents under vague charges of being “threats to public order.” The legal architecture for such a move already exists, thanks to the Patriot Act and post-9/11 detention policies, which allow the federal government to detain individuals indefinitely without trial.

Gilead is No Longer Fiction—It’s a Blueprint

If this trajectory continues, the United States is not just at risk of becoming a theocratic state—it is actively constructing one. Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale was not a prediction—it was a warning, based on real-world historical events where nations fell under the grip of religious totalitarianism.

Gilead controlled reproduction—Trump is enacting policies to eliminate reproductive rights and LGBTQ+ healthcare.
Gilead monitored its citizens—AI surveillance and government-aligned tech companies are increasing domestic tracking.
Gilead punished dissent—Trump’s executive orders are giving federal agencies the tools to criminalize opposition.

Atwood’s fictional theocracy is built on religious loyalty tests, secret police, and government-sponsored religious indoctrination. The United States is now implementing real-world policies that closely mirror this dystopian framework.

The Last Chance to Push Back

The executive order “Eradicating Anti-Christian Bias” is a test—a calculated step toward a nation where dissent is criminalized, religious conformity is mandatory, and governance is dictated not by the Constitution, but by Christian nationalism.

This is no longer a future risk—it is happening now. If left unchallenged, the secular and democratic foundations of the United States will erode beyond recognition. The world is watching, and history will judge whether we fought back—or simply allowed America to become the next Gilead.

The Real Target of Trump’s Religious Protection Order

A Theocratic Crackdown Disguised as Religious Liberty

On February 6, 2025, President Donald Trump issued the “Eradicating Anti-Christian Bias” executive order, establishing a federal task force within the Department of Justice to investigate and eliminate what his administration calls “anti-Christian weaponization of government.” The order claims to address systemic discrimination against Christians, citing alleged religious persecution under the previous Biden administration.

While the EO is framed as a defense of religious liberty, deeper scrutiny suggests a far more troubling reality: this policy is a backdoor to legally enshrine Christian supremacy, suppress LGBTQ+ rights, promote religious fundamentalism over science, and marginalize non-Christian communities. Given its vague definitions of “anti-Christian bias,” the EO raises alarms about its potential use as a weaponized policy against secularism, science, and minority faiths.

This investigation examines how Trump’s executive order might be used to:

Suppress LGBTQ+ protections under the guise of “religious freedom.”
Legitimize the rejection of science in education and public policy.
Weaken protections for non-Christian faiths and marginalized religious communities.
Expand Christian nationalist influence in government institutions.

1. LGBTQ+ Rights: A Primary Target?

One of the most immediate concerns about this executive order is its potential to erode LGBTQ+ protections, using “religious liberty” as a justification for discrimination. The Trump administration, backed by Project 2025, has long sought to reverse protections for LGBTQ+ individuals in employment, healthcare, education, and public life.

How the EO Might Be Used to Target LGBTQ+ People

Rolling Back Workplace Protections

• The EO empowers the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Department of Labor to investigate “anti-Christian bias.” This could be used to exempt religious organizations and businesses from hiring LGBTQ+ individuals, claiming their presence violates Christian beliefs.
• Affected areas: Schools, hospitals, adoption agencies, businesses with religious affiliations.

Denying Healthcare and Essential Services

• Doctors, nurses, and healthcare providers could refuse to treat transgender patients, LGBTQ+ couples, or individuals seeking gender-affirming care, citing “religious conscience.”
• Faith-based foster care and adoption agencies could legally deny LGBTQ+ parents from adopting children, claiming it contradicts their religious beliefs.

Encouraging Religious Exemptions in Education

• The EO could lead to state-funded Christian schools refusing LGBTQ+ students or refusing to comply with anti-discrimination laws in public education.
• Universities with Christian affiliations may be exempted from Title IX protections, which currently ensure that LGBTQ+ students are not discriminated against in federally funded schools.

The End Goal: Total Legal Erasure?

• Utah’s HB 269 forces transgender students into dorms based on their assigned sex at birth.
• Florida’s HB 1233 blocks transgender individuals from updating driver’s licenses and legal identification.
• These are not just discriminatory policies—they are steps toward the full legal erasure of trans identities.

2. Suppressing Scientific Views: The Rise of Creationism and Faith-Based Policy

The EO references past government actions against Christian beliefs, hinting that certain scientific, medical, and educational policies may be re-examined for “anti-Christian bias.” This could have devastating consequences for scientific integrity in schools, environmental policies, and public health.

How Science May Be Undermined

Education: Promoting Creationism Over Evolution

• The Department of Education’s inclusion in the Task Force suggests a review of secular education policies, potentially pushing for:
  • Teaching Intelligent Design in public schools as an “alternative” to evolution.
  • State funding for private Christian schools that reject evolution and climate science.
  • Religious exemptions for teachers to avoid teaching evolution, LGBTQ+ history, or critical thinking on religious issues.

Faith-Based Public Health Decisions

• Restrictions on abortion, contraception, and in-vitro fertilization.
• Religious exemptions for vaccines or pandemic measures under the claim of “Christian liberties.”
• Blocking access to stem cell research under the guise of “ethical concerns.”

The Rise of “Trad Wife” Culture and the Push to Restrict Women’s Rights

• A growing movement glorifying women abandoning careers and education is reinforcing legal efforts to weaken workplace protections for women and restrict access to professional fields dominated by men.
• Wyoming and Tennessee have introduced bills redefining healthcare to exclude abortion, even in life-threatening cases.

3. Expanding Christian Nationalist Influence in Government

By placing multiple federal agencies under the oversight of a Christian bias task force, the EO institutionalizes Christian nationalist control over:
Public education
Judicial systems
Health policies
Employment discrimination cases

Surveillance State: Tracking Dissent Under the Guise of “Religious Protection”

• The FBI’s role in this Task Force is deeply concerning—it suggests possible surveillance of secular activists, LGBTQ+ groups, and non-Christian communities.
• Elon Musk’s Starlink technology—already tested in military intelligence operations—could be used for real-time tracking of political dissidents, under the pretense of “monitoring anti-Christian bias.”

Status Check : The Path to Theocracy

Trump’s “Eradicating Anti-Christian Bias” EO is not just about protecting Christian rights—it is about using religious nationalism to reshape the American legal and social landscape.

What This EO Really Does:
✅ Threatens LGBTQ+ rights under the guise of religious freedom
✅ Undermines science and secular education
✅ Expands detention under the guise of immigration enforcement
✅ Elevates Christianity as a privileged class above other faiths
✅ Isolates the U.S. from international human rights courts, signaling a retreat from democratic accountability

With Guantanamo Bay being proposed as a detention center for undocumented immigrants, how long until it is used for American citizens deemed “anti-Christian” or “enemies of the state” by this administration?

This is not speculation—this is happening now. If left unchallenged, the secular and democratic foundations of the United States will erode beyond recognition. The world is watching, and history will judge whether we fought back—or allowed America to become the next Gilead.

My Final Words: A Nation No Longer Safe for Its Most Vulnerable

America has crossed a threshold. With the “Eradicating Anti-Christian Bias” executive order, the government is no longer just flirting with theocracy—it is actively implementing the legal and institutional framework for religious authoritarianism. This is not an abstract fear; it is an observable reality. The protections that once stood as guardrails against oppression are being methodically dismantled, and history has shown us exactly where this path leads.

For the transgender community, the United States is no longer a safe place to exist. State after state has criminalized gender-affirming care, banned trans individuals from public life, and weaponized government agencies against them. Trump’s executive order sets the stage for even more aggressive measures—targeting medical professionals who provide trans healthcare, restricting employment opportunities, and legally defining trans identities out of existence. This is not an isolated policy shift; it is a coordinated, systemic purge of transgender rights.

And the danger does not stop there. The broader LGBTQ+ community is next, with marriage equality, workplace protections, and even the ability to exist safely in public spaces now under threat. Following closely behind are disabled Americans, whose access to healthcare and legal protections may soon be eroded under policies that prioritize religious “moral values” over medical necessity. Non-Christian faiths, particularly Muslim and Pagan communities, are being deliberately erased from federal considerations, and attacks on synagogues and mosques are being ignored. Scientists and academics, too, are at risk, as fact-based policy is being sidelined in favor of religious ideology—a move that historically precedes the suppression of education and intellectual freedoms.

But perhaps one of the most chilling aspects of this shift is the growing war on women’s rights, which extends beyond abortion bans and into the very fabric of society’s expectations for women. With the rise of “Trad Wife” culture—a movement that romanticizes women abandoning careers and education to embrace submission and domestic servitude—there is a coordinated push to redefine women’s roles in America. Education access, employment opportunities, and even legal autonomy are being reframed as “anti-traditional” values, while reproductive rights are being systematically dismantled. Abortion bans, coupled with increasing restrictions on contraception and in-vitro fertilization, are part of a larger effort to control women’s bodies, choices, and futures. The rollback of these rights is not an unintended consequence—it is a deliberate strategy to reestablish patriarchal dominance under the guise of religious morality.

As these forces gain momentum, we must acknowledge a hard truth: the foundational checks and balances that once protected democracy are crumbling. The courts are being stacked with religiously motivated judges. Congress is failing to act as a check on executive overreach. The military and law enforcement agencies are being restructured to align with Christian nationalist priorities. Surveillance technology—once used against foreign threats—is increasingly pointed inward, toward American citizens. This is not just an authoritarian shift; it is the deliberate dismantling of democracy itself.

For some, there may still be time to fight back. Activism, legal challenges, and global diplomatic pressure might slow the advance of religious totalitarianism—but the reality is that the window for resistance is rapidly closing. For the most at-risk communities, staying in the U.S. may no longer be a viable option. Nations like Canada, Spain, and Germany still uphold strong human rights protections and provide asylum for those fleeing state-sponsored persecution. The question now is not whether America will become a theocracy—but whether those most at risk will be able to leave before it’s too late.

This is a moment of reckoning. Those who believe “it won’t happen here” are already ignoring the evidence that it is happening. The question is no longer if America will fall—but who will survive the fall when it comes.

Citations and References

• White House Executive Order on “Eradicating Anti-Christian Bias” (2025) – White House Official Website
• France24 News – Trump Orders End of Government DEI Programs, LGBTQ+ Protections (2025) – France24
• AP News – Recent Legislative Efforts to Ban Transgender Rights in Multiple States (2025) – AP News
• American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) – Legal Challenges Against Anti-LGBTQ+ Laws (2025) – ACLU
• Human Rights Watch – U.S. Sanctions Against the International Criminal Court (2025) – Human Rights Watch
• The Guardian – Wyoming’s Attempt to Redefine Healthcare, Abortion Restrictions (2025) – The Guardian
• Teen Vogue – Trump Moves to Ban Trans Women from Women’s Sports via Executive Order (2025) – Teen Vogue
• Reuters – Trump to Create Religious Office in White House, Target “Anti-Christian Bias” (2025) – Reuters
• The Times – Trump’s Religious Agenda and Christian Nationalism in Policy (2025) – The Times
• ACLU Utah – HB269: Anti-Trans Dorm Bill Explained (2025) – ACLU Utah
• New Yorker – The History of CIA Black Sites and Extraordinary Rendition (2007) – The New Yorker
• Legiscan – Federal and State Bills on Religious Protections (2025) – Legiscan
• HRW – U.S. Anti-LGBTQ+ Laws and International Human Rights Violations (2025) – Human Rights Watch
• ABC4 – Utah Lawmakers and New Anti-Transgender Bills in 2025 – ABC4
• NYP Post – Trump Declares Government Will Only Recognize Two Genders (2025) – New York Post