Trump-backed faith event features conservative Christians as critics decry blurring of church-state lines

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Reuters

May 17, 2026 6:06 AM EDT Updated 1 hour ago


WASHINGTON, May 17 (Reuters) - A Trump administration-backed celebration of U.S. religious heritage on Sunday is highlighting conservative Christian leaders' ties to the president as ​critics say the gathering does not reflect the country's diverse faith landscape. The nine-hour program, called "Rededicate 250: National Jubilee of Prayer, Praise & Thanksgiving," ‌mostly features speakers from two Christian traditions — evangelical Christianity and conservative Catholicism.

President Donald Trump is scheduled to appear in a video message while senior Republicans including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will speak on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. According to organizers, the event is meant to "prepare for the nation’s 250th birthday with Scripture, testimony, prayer, and rededication of our country ​as One Nation to God.". The gathering is organized by Freedom 250, a public-private partnership created by the White House to coordinate 250th anniversary celebrations ​alongside federal agencies.

Advocates of church-state separation say the event blurs government and religion. “This government-sponsored prayer fest is the epitome of ⁠exactly what our secular Constitution forbids our government from doing,” said Annie Laurie Gaylor, co-president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation, in a statement. “It is a ​fusion not only of church and state, but also of our federal government with Christian nationalism,” said Gaylor, whose organization advocates for the separation of church and ​state.

Some critics have pointed to the absence of religious groups such as mainline Protestant churches including Lutherans, Methodists and Episcopalians. Also not represented are the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Orthodox Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism. More than a quarter of all U.S. adults identify as religiously unaffiliated, according to figures from the Pew Research Center. About 23% and 19% identify ​as evangelical Protestant and Catholic, respectively, and about 11% identify as mainline Protestant.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-backed-faith-event-features-conservative-christians-critics-decry-blurring-2026-05-17/