Rededicate 250: A National Jubilee to Raise Spirits – And Hackles

President Donald Trump and several members of his administration will join a diverse collection of Christians – both clergy and laity alike – on the National Mall today for fellowship and worship. Featured speakers of the Rededicate 250 event will include both church and government leaders, but anyone is welcome to attend for a day of “prayer, praise, and thanksgiving.” This Sunday’s day-long event “transcends politics,” according to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), yet critics are calling it an excuse to spread so-called “Christian nationalism” and a threat to religious freedom in America.

Rededicate 250: A Threat to Democracy?

The full program runs from 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. local time, and will include live performances by worship music artists, prayers, and speeches from government officials and church leaders. It’s being pitched as a Christian gathering by organizers and attendees.

“I believe it’s a moment when the Body of Christ, the church, comes together and will boldly declare that America still needs God,” Georgia pastor Jentezen Franklin said in a social media post earlier in the week. “This is an opportunity for believers to stand together as one nation under God. … I’m honored that they’ve asked me to speak and share the Gospel.”

Speaker Johnson, who will lead the “moment of rededication,” called the event a “unique moment for believers” and “a call for unity, repentance, and hope.”

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Congressional Democrats and many in the left-wing establishment media, however, see it differently.

“What should be a broadly unifying celebration has been politically hijacked and wrapped up in the MAGA narrative that tries to rewrite our history and promote the president’s agenda,” said Rep. Jared Huffman, a California Democrat, according to PBS News. “They have narrowly defined what it means both to be American and to be Christian, and they are wrapping that in the official sanction of the U.S. Government,” he continued, adding that Rededicate 250 would “have the Founders rolling in their graves.”

And the title of the PBS exposé? “Trump to join prayer gathering criticized for promoting Christian nationalism.” How conspiratorial!

The article goes on to explain what polling shows Americans think about officially establishing Christianity as the US national religion – something that the president has not attempted or even suggested doing, and which the First Amendment to the US Constitution expressly forbids.

“This is the government putting on a Christian nationalist event,” declared Annie Lauri Gaylor, co-president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation. “Even if it is accepting private money for it, it’s still putting it on. It’s outrageous.”

A Religious Event Like Any Other

Officials in the federal government being involved in – or even leading – religious practices does not formally establish one national religion to the exclusion of others, nor does it violate the First Amendment in some other way. In an op-ed for Deseret News, American Muslim and Michigan State University law professor Asma Uddin explained why Rededicate 250 is likely to be upheld as legal because the Free Exercise Clause protects the right to practice religion “publicly and robustly,” and because participation is entirely voluntary.

“Under this framework, Rededicate 250 would likely be upheld,” she concluded. “The National Mall is a paradigmatic public forum. Participation is voluntary. No one is compelled to attend, pray, or affirm any creed. The government is not imposing religious observance in the way the Establishment Clause most clearly forbids.”

Furthermore, she explained how the Founders understood the issue:

“History points in the same direction. As Michael McConnell has shown, a government-established religion in the founding generation was defined not by religious rhetoric or public ceremony, but by its legal control over faith: things like controlling doctrine and clergy, compelling attendance, providing public financial support and limiting political participation to members of the established church.

“Rededicate 250 has none of these features.”

In reality, it’s no different from the annual national prayer breakfast, from a constitutional perspective – or the prayers that have opened almost every legislative session of both the US House and Senate in American history. As well, while some guest chaplains have opened sessions with non-Christian prayer, every official chaplain of both chambers since the roles were first established in 1789 has been a Christian.

For those interested in attending in person, it’s free and open to “all Americans,” according to the event website, though organizers do want folks to register online. For those interested but who can’t attend in person, it will be a livestreamed event, and some churches nationwide will participate remotely.