White House mass prayer event seeks to reclaim US Christian roots

WASHINGTON – Top Trump administration officials will address a mass prayer meeting in the heart of Washington on May 17, an event organisers bill as reclaiming the country’s religious foundations, but critics say is a quasi-official rally for Christian nationalism.

Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson are all listed as guest speakers. President Donald Trump is expected to address the crowd via video.

The gathering has been organised by the White House as part of a programme of celebrations for America’s 250th birthday and, in a video message inviting Americans to attend, Mr Hegseth said it was an opportunity to “rededicate this republic to God and country”.

Muscular Christian nationalism has enjoyed a prominent platform since Mr Trump’s return to power, and evangelicals form a core element of the president’s support base.

Mr Hegseth is a member of an ultra-conservative evangelical church, and his briefings on the Iran war have been notable for their use of bellicose, Christian rhetoric.

The US Constitution explicitly bars the establishment of any official religion, but the expression of any is also explicitly protected.

While previous administrations and presidents have regularly held and attended faith-based gatherings, the May 17 event is still unusual for its scale and the presence of top Cabinet officials.

And apart from a rabbi and a retired Catholic archbishop, almost all the 20 listed “faith leaders” who will speak are evangelical Protestants.

“It’s not unprecedented to have a group of evangelical pastors or conservative clergy come together for something like this and blend a certain kind of nationalism with a certain kind of conservative Christianity,” said Professor Sam Perry, at Baylor University, a Christian school in Texas.

But “the Trump administration taking the lead on this celebration at this scale is different than previous events”, Prof Perry added.

The organisers’ website says the prayer gathering is for “Americans of every background”, but Professor Julie Ingersoll, a religious studies expert at the University of North Florida, says the list of speakers suggests “an idea of American identity that is rooted in whiteness and Christianity”.

The event “sends a specific message that they are the mainstream Americans, and the rest of us are sidelined”, Prof Ingersoll said.

The National Mall, which stretches from the US Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial, is a common site for mass rallies and protests, most famously the 1963 March on Washington, when an estimated 250,000 people heard Martin Luther King Jr deliver his “I Have a Dream” speech.

The May 17 gathering is scheduled to last around nine hours.

“It is about the history and the foundations of our nation, which was built on Christian values, on the Bible,” TV preacher Paula White, who is head of the White House’s Faith Office and a so-called spiritual adviser to Mr Trump, said in a webinar in April. “This is really truly rededicating the country to God.” AFP