President of Family Research Council Tony Perkins urged President Donald Trump to reissue an executive order from his first term that protected religious freedom in remarks he gave during the second annual Religious Freedom in America Conference on Thursday.

“Religious freedom is not merely political rhetoric. It has to be practical policy to be real. And so, it must be again in our nation today,” Perkins told the audience during a panel titled, “What Does the Future Hold for the Free Exercise Movement?” Alliance Defending Freedom Center for Free Speech Senior Counsel Phil Sechler and First Liberty Institute Chief Legal Officer Jeff Mateer were also on the panel.

Perkins called upon President Trump to reissue a 2017 executive order which instructed all executive departments and agencies “to the greatest extent practicable and to the extent permitted by law, respect and protect the freedom of persons and organizations to engage in religious and political speech.”

“We need the president to reissue his May 2017 Executive Order on Religious Freedom that protects religious speech and religious practice throughout our government because that, as we see, will set the stage for states to follow suit,” Perkins said.

Perkins argued that the nation’s success depends on religious freedom being practiced.

“America needs to be that shining city on a hill,” Perkins insisted. “And we do that — not in our rhetoric, not in our proclamations — but in our practice. If we are to serve as a beacon of liberty to the world, we must once again make sure that religious freedom is fully woven into our way of life as Americans.”

While Trump has signed an executive order protecting freedom of speech, and therefore religious speech, he has yet to sign an order protecting religious freedom.

At the National Prayer Breakfast this morning, however, Trump announced he’d be signing an executive order that creates a new Department of Justice task force dedicated to eliminating anti-Christian bias.

“The mission of this task force will be to immediately halt all forms of anti-Christian targeting and discrimination within the federal government, including at the DOJ, which was absolutely terrible. The IRS, the FBI, terrible, and other agencies,” Trump said. Trump also noted that the task force would also focus on combating anti-Christian violence and vandalism.

“While I’m in the White House, we will protect Christians in our schools, in our military, in our government, in our workplaces, hospitals, and in our public squares, and we will bring our country back together as one nation under God, with liberty and justice for all,” Trump declared.