WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� Thousands of people streamed onto the National Mall for a Sunday billed as a 鈥渞ededication of our country as One Nation under God.鈥�
Against the backdrop of the Washington Monument, worship music blared from a stage that made clear the event鈥檚 Christian focus. Arched stained-glass windows, set underneath grand columns resembling a federal building, depicted the nation鈥檚 founders alongside a white cross.
Most speakers celebrated Christianity鈥檚 ties to American history, a blending of ideas that critics flagged ahead of the prayer gathering as supporting Christian nationalism.
President Donald Trump read a in a video shown at the rally. Filmed in the Oval Office, it was the same footage used during a marathon Bible-reading event last month. The verses from 2 Chronicles are often cited by those who believe America was founded as a Christian nation.
鈥淚f my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways,鈥� Trump read, 鈥渢hen will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.鈥�
Other top Republicans, including Vice President JD Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., were also on the schedule as part of the celebrations this year marking 250 years of U.S. independence.
Only one name on the Rededicate 250 program was not Christian. Most were among Trump鈥檚 longtime evangelical supporters, including Paula White-Cain of the and evangelist Franklin Graham of Samaritan鈥檚 Purse.
鈥淲e are deeply concerned that what is really being rededicated is a nation to a very narrow and ideological part of the Christian faith that betrays our nation鈥檚 fundamental commitment to religious freedom,鈥� said the Rev. Adam Russell Taylor, a Baptist minister who leads the progressive Christian organization Sojourners.
The conservative Christian lineup featured guests who often argue that the United States was founded as a , a narrative disputed by many historians and other religious traditions.
Rabbi Jonah Dov Pesner, director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, noted the religious diversity of early America, including Jews, Muslims and Indigenous people. 鈥淚 want to shine a light on America鈥檚 history as a nation that welcomes, celebrates, and protects people of all faiths and those of no faith,鈥� Pesner said.
Attendees believe prayer event is significant
Many in the crowd wore Trump hats and patriotic colors, joining the festivities under a sweltering sun.
鈥淚t鈥檚 all about Jesus,鈥� said Denny Smith, 72, of Rhode Island, who rented a motorized scooter to traverse the National Mall.
Retha Bond, 58 and from southern Illinois, also heard Trump speak not far away on Jan. 6, 2021. She said she did not join the protesters who rioted later that day but has remained a steadfast Trump supporter.
鈥淚鈥檓 not saying Trump is the savior,鈥� Bond said. She added that “this is one of the most important things that could be going on in the world, for us to rededicate our nation back to God.鈥�
Speakers mentioned the from the stage. Kirk’s activism has been a powerful example for Alessandra Seawright, 15, of Santa Fe, New Mexico, who came to Rededicate 250 with her mother.
鈥淚 think we just need more of this in our country, and we just need to share the word of the Lord,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e love going to events like this.鈥�
They also attended , which mixed Christian worship and political messages. Events like these, Seawright said, help her feel less alone in her conservative Christian beliefs.
Prayer event spurs protest
Hegseth, who has infused with his , asked the gathering in a video to pray to 鈥渙ur Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.鈥� Referencing George Washington鈥檚 faith, he said, 鈥淟et us pray without ceasing. Let us pray for our nation on bended knee.鈥�
Orthodox Jewish Rabbi Meir Soloveichik was the only non-Christian religious leader listed on the program. To applause, he told the crowd, 鈥淎ntisemitism is utterly un-American鈥� 鈥� a seeming reference to .
Soloveichik serves on the Trump administration鈥檚 along with White-Cain, Graham and Cardinal Timothy Dolan and Bishop Robert Barron, Catholic clerics also featured on the program.
The event was organized by Freedom 250, a public-private partnership backed by the White House. Congressional Democrats have questioned the nonprofit鈥檚 , which they see as a Trump-controlled end run around a separate commission charted by Congress a decade ago to prepare semiquincentennial events.
Progressive groups staged counterprogramming. Among them were the Freedom From Religion Foundation, which advocates a strict separation of church and state, and the Christian organization Faithful America. The two groups displayed a large balloon near the mall of a Trump-like golden calf, in a biblical reference to idolatry.
On Thursday evening, the Interfaith Alliance projected protest slogans onto an exterior wall of the National Gallery of Art. 鈥淒emocracy not theocracy,鈥� said one. Another said: 鈥淭he separation of church and state is good for both.鈥�
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Associated Press writer Peter Smith in Pittsburgh contributed to this report.
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