National Mall prayer event sparks concern about Trump administration eroding the wall between church and state

Sunday’s all-day prayer event on the National Mall, supported by the White House with taxpayer funds and private donations, is the latest flashpoint in the Trump administration’s blurring of the distinction between church and state.

The event, called “Rededication 250: A National Jubilee of Prayer, Praise and Thanksgiving,” is part of a series of celebrations commemorating America’s 250th birthday and is expected to include video messages from President Donald Trump and other members of his Cabinet. Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson will also make statements. The event will bring together faith leaders, public officials and musicians to worship and worship ahead of the nation’s founding anniversary.

Sunday’s event is the latest in a series of faith initiatives and policy moves Supported by the White House This strengthened the emphasis on Christianity in the government’s operations, culture and policy.

The event was organized by Freedom 250, a nonprofit subsidiary of the National Park Foundation that serves as the fundraising arm of the National Park Service.

“Rededicate250 will be a powerful moment to reflect on where we are, rededicate ourselves to the ideals that define us, and look to the future with renewed hope and purpose,” said Danielle Alvarez, Freedom 250 senior advisor.

While organizers invite Americans of all backgrounds to attend the event, long list The majority of participating faith leaders are evangelical Christians; except for one Orthodox rabbi and two conservative Catholic bishops. Brittany Baldwin, White House senior policy adviser and director of the White House Task Force America 250, explained the focus on “our heritage as a Judeo-Christian nation” in a planning webinar that aired before Sunday’s event and has since been deleted.

Questions regarding constitutionality

Experts interviewed by CNN were divided on whether the incident was constitutional.

Andrew Koppelman, a professor at Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law who focuses on constitutional law, said the event was allowed because no court had issued an injunction to stop it, but that it was “contrary to the fundamental purposes of the Constitution.”

“This divisive embrace of a particular religion and trying to associate the incumbent administration with that religion is bad for religion, bad for government, and bad for America,” Koppelman said.

But Douglas Laycock, who specializes in religion and law at the University of Texas School of Law, said he believes this event is “clearly unconstitutional.”

“This is unconstitutional because this is a clear promotion by the state of not only religion in general, but also a very specific version of a particular religion,” Laycock said.

Meanwhile, Michael Moreland, professor of law and religion at Villanova’s Charles Widger School of Law, argued that religious belief and the public square can intersect, noting prayers during open sessions of Congress and the presidential inauguration.

“I think to think that an event like this would raise any constitutional problems is to overemphasize the idea of ​​secession,” Moreland said, adding that it was “a very strong separatist view of what the First Amendment requires.”

Johnson, a devout Christian, defended the event in an interview on the National Mall on Fox News on Sunday, saying the gathering was a recognition of the country’s “religious and moral tradition” and accusing critics of wanting to “erase the history of America and act as if we weren’t a nation dedicated to God to begin with.”

White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers told CNN that Rededicate 250 will be a “beautiful and unifying moment” to reflect on America’s history shaped by “great men and women of faith.”

“Rededicate 250 will be a spectacular event in our nation’s capital to celebrate religious freedom for all people of faith, the cornerstone of the sacred principles enshrined in our Constitution by our founding fathers. Americans will gather on the National Mall to rededicate this country as ‘one nation under God,'” Rogers said.

Government-wide focus on Christianity

Critics say the Trump administration is trying to reinforce Christian nationalism, the belief that the United States was founded as a Christian nation and should be governed by Christian principles.

Rabbi Jonah Dov Pesner, director of the Religious Action Center for Reform Judaism, argued that the term Judeo-Christian, which Baldwin used to describe the event and which members of the Trump administration have repeatedly used to describe the nation’s values, does not serve Christianity, Judaism or other religions in America.

“Judeo-Christian is often used as an amalgam to conflate Judaism and incorporate it into a triumphalist view of Christianity, directly feeding into a White Christian nationalist narrative,” Pesner said at a media briefing ahead of Sunday’s event.

CNN reached out to the White House regarding criticism of White Christian nationalism.

On Fox News Sunday, Johnson took aim at people who have expressed concern about the rise of Christian nationalism under the Trump administration.

“Those who oppose and create this new term of Christian nationalism as a derogatory, derogatory term are trying to silence the influence and voices of Christians, and I think that is deeply inappropriate,” he said.

Various Trump administration officials have repeatedly attributed the country’s founding to Christianity. During the National Prayer Breakfast activity “America was founded as a Christian nation,” Hegseth declared this spring. defense minister in a video promoting Sunday’s event in question“Our founders knew two simple truths: Our rights come from God, not the government, and a nation is only as strong as its faith.”

However, some historians disagree with this view. Gregg Frazer, professor of history and political studies at The Master’s University, a Christian college in California wrote in an online newspaper: Although there were Christians among the Founding Fathers, “they did not intend to create a Christian nation.”

“They were religious men who wanted religion (but not necessarily Christianity) to have a significant influence in the public sphere,” Frazer wrote.

The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution says: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.”

Other critics of the event include Rachel Laser, president and CEO of the United States Association for the Separation of Church and State, who called “Redadicate 250” a “government-run church service” on the National Mall that many Christians disagree with.

“This administration aims to narrowly view Christianity as the American religion,” Laser said at a media briefing. “I can imagine our founders turning in their graves.”

A spokesperson for Freedom 250 told CNN that the United States has a long history of public prayer. Second Continental Congress.

In February, Hegseth invited a controversial pastor who describes himself as a Christian nationalist Who supports abolishing women’s right to vote? A person who believes that homosexuality should be a crime and organizes a prayer service at the Pentagon as part of a monthly prayer series he started.

Pentagon one of several government agencies Since Trump returned to office last year, they have begun opening meetings with prayer, hosting regular faith services and posting Bible verses and Christian images on social media.

In April, Trump attended a meeting with Cabinet members and faith leaders. Marathon reading of the Bibleas part of a week-long event offering The event is described by its organizers as a “spiritual celebration” of the country’s 250th anniversary.

Earlier that month, Agriculture Minister Brooke Rollins “Christ is risen” sent the Easter message This behavior against employees sparked a backlash within the department, angering some of the nearly 100,000 employees and prompting a formal complaint against the secretary.

A union that represents federal employees, including those in the Department of Agriculture, filed a lawsuit He was lashing out at the agency and Rollins over the Easter email last week, trying to prevent the secretary from “further communicating Christian messages to USDA subordinates.” When asked for comment on the lawsuit, a USDA spokesperson told CNN: “While we do not comment on pending litigation, we will keep the plaintiffs in our prayers during this process.”

Public-private funds used for religious activities

A spokesperson for Freedom 250 told CNN that the group is organizing signature events for the nation’s 250th anniversary using private and public money.

Last year, Congress appropriated $150 million for the 250th as part of the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” but it is unclear how much public funding Freedom 250 received for the event. Freedom 250 has approached the National Park Foundation for funding details. NPF then contacted the National Park Service, which CNN reached out to for comment.

Although Freedom 250’s structure means it doesn’t have to disclose its donors, NPF president and CEO Jeff Reinbold told lawmakers at a February hearing that the foundation would disclose any donations to Freedom 250 as part of its normal reporting unless anonymity is requested by the donor.

“Donations to Freedom 250 are subject to our normal donation procedures,” he said, adding that donors are also vetted by the National Park Service.

As the country prepares to turn 250 years old, Robert P. Jones, president and founder of the Public Religion Research Institute, said his research shows Americans are embracing a view of a religiously diverse country.

“There’s great diversity, not only in the country but within Christianity itself, and I think that’s remarkable and something that’s never really existed when you look at this,” Jones said.

This story has been updated with additional information and to clarify Andrew Koppelman’s views on the incident.

CNN’s Piper Hudsepth Blackburn and Alison Main contributed to this report.

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