Understanding the nation’s founding requires insight into the religious context in which the framers lived and worked, political scientist Mark Hall said during a webinar hosted by Religion News Service. “In the late 18th century, about 98% of Americans of…
At Rededicate 250, Chris Tomlin emerges as worship warrior
As my son and I walked through the press screening and out to the gathering space for Rededicate 250, I began having flashbacks to my years in a white evangelical megachurch. With a pre-roll video set to worship music filling…
Letter to the Editor: A more biblical way to rededicate
Dear Editor: On May 17, thousands of conservative Christians gathered in Washington, D.C., to “Rededicate America.” Their intention was noble, and Christians of all political and theological stripes should eagerly join in personal efforts to rededicate themselves to God. Unfortunately,…
Here’s what Baptists said at Rededicate 250
Despite a lack of religious diversity among the speakers at the Trump administration’s “Rededicate 250” event held last Sunday on the National Mall, conservative Baptists played a prominent role. The speaker lineup for the nine-hour religious festival included two Catholics…
Rededicate 250’s anti-Catholicism revealed MAGA religious divides
In anticipation of the 250th anniversary of the United States, thousands came to the National Mall in Washington for “Rededicate 250: A National Jubilee Of Prayer, Praise & Thanksgiving.” The eight-hour-long event, created and organized by Freedom 250 in collaboration with the…
What Jefferson and Madison would have thought about ‘rededicating’ the US to God
Thousands of Americans prayed on the National Mall on May 17, 2026, during “Rededicate 250”: a day-long rally to “come together in prayer and worship ahead of the nation’s 250th birthday,” as organizers described it. U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson,…
Postcards from Rededicate 250
My wife, Jodi Kanter, is a performance studies scholar. Over the years, she’s taught me how to read a stage. As I made my way onto the green grass of the National Mall in Washington, D.C., Sunday, even before I…
What I saw and heard in DC this weekend
Evangelicals flocked to Washington, D.C., over the weekend to attend the Trump administration’s “Rededicate 250” event on Sunday, which was billed as “rededicating” the country to being “one nation under God.” The night before Trump’s official event — funded by public money…
American historian debunks Rededicate 250 revisionism
“The United States of America was not founded as a Christian nation,” historian Heather Cox Richardson insisted in her May 17 “Letters from an American” column. The professor of history at Boston College used her Sunday writing to comment on…
Diversity of faith missing from Rededicate 250
Any observance of the nation’s 250th anniversary should celebrate the diversity of faith in U.S. history, but that’s not what Americans will see during the Trump administration’s prayer and worship service May 17, religious and civil rights leaders say. Rededicate…
Is pluralism possible under an evangelical Christian God?
What does pluralism mean for people who believe there’s only one way to God, who believe God reigns, but who live in a nation that values liberty and justice for all? This is the question many Christians are wrestling through….
One nation under which God?
On May 17, Donald Trump plans to “rededicate” America as one nation under God. The promotional material for the event says, “Rededicate 250 will gather a broad assembly of voices united by a love of God and country.” In fact,…