"On Sunday [May 17, 2026] the Trump administration will present its own vision of a Christian revival when it hosts a prayer gathering on the Mall in Washington. The event, billed as “Rededicate 250: A National Jubilee of Prayer, Praise & Thanksgiving,” is being held to “prepare” America for its 250th anniversary in July.
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Theologically conservative religious congregations located in Republican-majority areas experienced greater growth and vitality, according to the study. Researchers say the appeal of leaders such as President Donald Trump and the late conservative speaker Charlie Kirk – heroes to many White evangelicals – may have contributed to the growth in evangelical congregations.
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The renewed vitality of the evangelical church can also be seen in Rededicate 250 on the National Mall on Sunday. The lineup of speakers includes White evangelical pastors such as the Rev. Franklin Graham and the Rev. Robert Jeffress, alongside such Republican figures as House Speaker Mike Johnson, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The gathering will feature live music, public prayer and scriptural readings and is framed by the ideology of White Christian nationalism, the false belief that America was founded as a Christian nation. Organizers say it will honor the Christian faith “that inspired America’s founders” and give thanks for “God’s presence in our national life throughout 250 years of American history.”
The event comes as the Trump administration is drawing fire for injecting its version of Christianity into American political life. The administration has been criticized for framing the Iran war as a Christian crusade. President Trump upset many Catholics with his recent feud with Pope Leo over foreign policy, and further inflamed some Christian supporters when he posted an AI-generated image of himself as a Christ-like figure healing a sick person. (The post was later deleted after Trump said he thought the image depicted him as a doctor.)"
"Religion is ‘back in fashion’ in America. Here’s why," John Blake, CNN, May 16, 2026
"The speaker list tells you exactly what this is: Franklin Graham, Robert Jeffress, Jonathan Falwell, Paula White, and more, standing alongside cabinet secretaries lending the full weight of the federal government to a Christian Nationalist rebranding of America.
It is a government-sponsored revival meeting dressed up as patriotism."
Fish Stark, American Humanist Association executive director, May 14, 2026
"The President just released his 'counterterrorism strategy' and named 'secular political groups' as one of their targets. He ended it by saying 'we will find you, and we will kill you.'
This conveniently comes right before this weekend’s 'Rededicate 250' event on the National Mall a government-sponsored day of prayer, paid for with your tax dollars."
Fish Stark, American Humanist Association executive director, May 15, 2026
"Event organizers with “Freedom 250,” a partisan public-private partnership created by Trump outside congressional oversight, are framing their spectacle as a supposed continuation of America’s Christian founding, pointing to a “day of Humiliation, Fasting and Prayer” declared by the Continental Congress on May 17, 1776."
Nick Fish, president of American Atheists, May 16, 2026 email
Read: ‘Jubilee of Christian Nationalism’: Trump Event Denounced as Attack on Church and State Separation: “If President Trump and his allies truly cared about America’s legacy of religious freedom, they would be celebrating church-state separation as the unique American invention that has allowed religious diversity to flourish.” Julia Conley, Common Dreams, May 15, 2026
"I spent half the day on Sunday down on the National Mall attending Rededicate250, an event sponsored by the White House as part of the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the nation (Shout out to my friend Dr. Steve Livingston, Professor of Media and Public Affairs at George Washington University, who came with me and shared his own astute observations). Today, I’ve talked to both NPR and CNN about what I saw and what I think it means.
You can watch my interview on CNN Situation Room above or here at CNN. And you can listen to the interview on NPR’s “Morning Edition” below. And scroll down for a photojournalism-style account of my encounter with the bad faith on the National Mall."
Postcards from the Rededicate250 Christian Nationalist Event in DC
My take on CNN and NPR: Trump's vision for a white Christian America takes the stage in DC.
Robert P. Jones, May 18, 2026
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