Donald Trump's Bible study pastor called mothers serving in public office sinners

Up to a dozen members of the Cabinet attend the sessions

Mr Drollinger has established Bible study groups in more than 40 state legislatures (Capitol Ministries )

The pastor currently holding Bible classes in the White House - and inviting Donald Trump to attend each of them - once declared that women with young children who worked were “sinners”.

It emerged last week that Ralph Drollinger was holding weekly sessions, attended by a dozen or so of Mr Trump’s cabinet members.

“It’s the best Bible study that I’ve ever taught in my life. They are so teachable; they’re so noble, they're so learned,” Mr Drollinger told CBN News.


 Trump said a family Bible was his most precious possession
 (Trump presidential campaign)

“These are godly individuals that God has risen to a position of prominence in our culture.”

Mr Drollinger, a former NBA basketball player is the president and founder of Capitol Ministries, a conservative Christian group that says its mission is to “evangelise elected officials and lead them toward maturity in Christ”.

He has established such Bible studies in up to 40 state legislatures in the US and some overseas. He teaches weekly classes in the US House and Senate.

Reports suggest that Health Secretary Tom Price, Energy Secretary Rick Perry, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, Agriculture Secretary Sunny Perdue, and CIA Director Mike Pompeo are among his regulars.

Yet the Los Angeles Times pointed that Mr Drollinger has often expressed controversial views.

In 2004, while holding classes in his native California, Mr Drollinger suggested female politicians with young children were doing wrong by working.

“It is one thing for a mother to work out of her home while her children are in school,” he wrote in a teaching document. “It is quite another matter to have children in the home and live away in Sacramento for four days a week. Whereas the former could be in keeping with the spirit of Proverbs 31, the latter is sinful.”

It said that Mr Drollinger also claimed Roman Catholicism “is one of the primary false religions in the world”. His comments meant the group had to leave a number of offices controlled by then-governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who is Catholic.

The President has yet to attend a session but he receives a copy of Mr Drollinger’s teaching weekly, and Vice President Mike Pence, who is serving a sponsor of the group, plans to attend when his schedule allows, according to CBN.

Mr Drollinger was not immediately available for comment.