{"id":7464,"date":"2026-05-18T14:01:53","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T14:01:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=7464"},"modified":"2026-05-18T14:01:53","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T14:01:53","slug":"thousands-flocked-to-the-national-mall-in-washington-for-an-america-themed-prayer-rally","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=7464","title":{"rendered":"Thousands flocked to the National Mall in Washington for an America-themed prayer rally"},"content":{"rendered":"

By TIFFANY STANLEY<\/strong><\/p>\n

WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 Thousands of people streamed onto the National Mall for a daylong prayer rally Sunday billed as a \u201crededication of our country as One Nation under God.\u201d<\/p>

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Against the backdrop of the Washington Monument, worship music blared from a stage that made clear the event\u2019s Christian focus. Arched stained-glass windows, set underneath grand columns resembling a federal building, depicted the nation\u2019s founders alongside a white cross.<\/p>\n

Most speakers celebrated Christianity\u2019s ties to American history, a blending of ideas that critics flagged ahead of the prayer gathering as supporting Christian nationalism.<\/p>\n

President Donald Trump read a passage of Scripture 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways,\u201d Trump read, \u201cthen will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Many names on the Rededicate 250 program were among Trump\u2019s longtime evangelical supporters, including Paula White-Cain of the White House Faith Office and evangelist Franklin Graham of Samaritan\u2019s Purse.<\/p>

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\u201cWe 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\u2019s fundamental commitment to religious freedom,\u201d said the Rev. Adam Russell Taylor, a Baptist minister who leads the progressive Christian organization Sojourners.<\/p>\n

The conservative Christian lineup featured guests who often argue that the United States was founded as a Christian nation, a narrative disputed by many historians and other religious traditions.<\/p>\n

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. \u201cI want to shine a light on America\u2019s history as a nation that welcomes, celebrates, and protects people of all faiths and those of no faith,\u201d Pesner said.<\/p>\n