Thousands of people gathered on the National Mall in Washington, DC, on Sunday for a nine-hour White House-backed prayer rally billed as a rededication of the United States as "One Nation Under God." The event, titled "Rededicate 250: A National Jubilee of Prayer, Praise and Thanksgiving," ran from 9am to 6pm and was framed as part of commemorations ahead of America's 250th anniversary of independence on 4 July. Against the backdrop of the Washington Monument, a stage decorated with arched stained-glass windows depicting the nation's founders alongside a white cross hosted a procession of evangelical speakers, Republican officials and worship musicians. Organisers expected around 15,000 attendees, many of whom wore Trump hats and patriotic colours under a sweltering sun.

President Donald Trump appeared in a video recorded in the Oval Office, reading a passage from the Old Testament book of 2 Chronicles — verses frequently cited by those who argue the United States was founded as a Christian nation. "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land," Trump read. Other senior administration figures also delivered video messages. Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the US as a country uniquely shaped by the "Christian idea," while Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth — who has increasingly woven Christian language into his leadership of the Pentagon — urged the crowd to "pray without ceasing" and invoked the legend of George Washington praying for his troops. Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina drew cheers by opening with "Are you a believer in Jesus?" and declaring that Americans' rights come not from government but from God. House Speaker Mike Johnson used his remarks to push back against what he called "sinister ideologies" that frame American history through the lens of "oppression and hypocrisy."

The event drew immediate and sustained criticism. Of the speakers listed on the programme, only one — Orthodox Rabbi Meir Soloveichik — was not Christian, a fact widely noted by critics. The Reverend Adam Russell Taylor of the progressive Christian organisation Sojourners warned that what was being rededicated was the nation "to a very narrow and ideological part of the Christian faith that betrays our nation's fundamental commitment to religious freedom." The Reverend Paul Raushenbush, president of the Interfaith Alliance, described the rally as a betrayal of the First Amendment's Establishment Clause, which has traditionally been interpreted as prohibiting the government from promoting or imposing religion. Progressive groups staged counterprogramming nearby, including a large balloon depicting a Trump-like golden calf — a biblical symbol of idolatry — and projected slogans such as "Democracy not theocracy" onto the National Gallery of Art earlier in the week.

The rally sits within a broader pattern of the Trump administration bringing evangelical Christianity closer to the machinery of government, including regular prayer services at the Department of Defense and a presidential task force established to address what Trump has called "anti-Christian bias" in federal institutions. The event was organised by Freedom 250, a public-private partnership backed by the White House; Congressional Democrats have questioned its finances and structure, seeing it as an end run around a separate, congressionally chartered commission established to plan the semiquincentennial celebrations. Recent polling from the Pew Research Center adds context to the debate: while 17 percent of American adults now support designating Christianity as the country's official religion — up from 13 percent in 2024 — a majority of roughly 54 percent still support the separation of church and state, and more than a quarter of Americans identify as atheist, agnostic or religiously unaffiliated. For supporters filling the Mall, however, the day carried profound meaning. "This is one of the most important things that could be going on in the world," said one attendee, "for us to rededicate our nation back to God."