White House Prayer Rally Highlights Christian Nationalism, Criticized for Marginalizing Other Religions

(Washington, 17th, Comprehensive Foreign Report) The White House hosted a large religious prayer event today, where U.S. President Trump, the Speaker of the House, and the Secretary of Defense addressed a large crowd and read scripture. Critics questioned the event's clear demonstration of Christian nationalism, arguing it contradicts the principle of separation of church and state and marginalizes other religions. The all-day outdoor event, held on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., was part of the 250th anniversary celebration of America's founding and called for 'restoring the national ideal of Christian principles.' Attendees sang and swayed to Christian music, listened to pastors speak, and heard video addresses from President Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. In a brief video, Trump read a Bible verse: if people 'seek my face and turn from their wicked ways,' God will 'heal their land.' Speaker Johnson offered a prayer against what he called 'evil ideologies.' According to Agence France-Presse, 'strong Christian nationalism,' which merges the nation with Christianity, has become a mainstream view since Trump's return to the White House, and evangelicals are among Trump's most steadfast supporters. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who belongs to a conservative evangelical church, has drawn attention for his frequent use of strong religious language during briefings on the war in Iran. The U.S. Constitution explicitly prohibits the establishment of a single religion as the state religion and clearly guarantees the expression of all faiths. While past presidents have often attended religious gatherings, today's event was particularly notable for its large scale and the participation of the Speaker of the House and many cabinet secretaries. AFP reported that nearly 20 'faith leaders' on today's list were evangelical Protestants, with the exception of a Jewish rabbi and a retired Catholic archbishop. Sam Perry, a professor at Baylor University, a Christian institution in Texas, stated, 'Combining a certain nationalism with a specific conservative Christian faith is not unprecedented... but for it to be led by the Trump administration on such a large scale is new.' Regarding the organizers' website claim that the prayer event welcomes 'all Americans,' Julie Ingersoll, a professor of religious studies at the University of North Florida, believes the list of speakers at the event already reveals a message: 'These are the so-called mainstream Americans; everyone else is marginalized.' The National Mall in Washington, a 3-kilometer-long space connecting the U.S. Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial, is a famous venue for rallies and protests. The 1963 March on Washington, where 250,000 people gathered to hear civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.'s 'I Have a Dream' speech, is a famous scene in American history.