Earlier this week, President Trump made an executive order blocking admissions of new refugees and banning the entrance of travelers from seven, Muslim majority countries. Despite world wide protests and countless law suits, Trump and his administration insist that this will help protect the U.S from foreign terrorism. The executive order states that the “United States must ensure that those admitted to this country do not bear hostile attitudes toward it and its founding principles,” insinuating that anyone from a banned nation holds clashing values to that of our Founding Fathers. At a press conference this afternoon, Department of Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly insists that the executive order will be used to assess the effectiveness of our system. The Department of Homeland Security defends the order, saying that it is “not a ban on Muslims” and thus shouldn’t be seen as discriminatory. However, at the conference, Kelly admits that “I would be less than honest if I told you that some of those countries that are currently on the list may not be taken off the list anytime soon.”

In class, we have discussed contemporary trends in religiosity in the United States. A consistent development is that as a body of people, we have grown more tolerant, and even appreciative, of other people’s religions. Different religions have began to see other types of faith as acceptable paths towards salvation, and many religious people have incorporated a variety of religions into their faith. Although many religious leaders have opposed Trump’s executive order, many Trump supporters, who are also Christian, support it. This could suggest a shift in this contemporary trend, in that more American people are less tolerant of different religions than we may have thought.

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/01/31/512678699/trumps-immigration-order-is-not-a-ban-on-muslims-homeland-security-chief-says