{"id":1297,"date":"2026-05-17T20:39:42","date_gmt":"2026-05-17T20:39:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/?p=1297"},"modified":"2026-05-17T20:39:42","modified_gmt":"2026-05-17T20:39:42","slug":"thousands-gather-on-national-mall-for-daylong-prayer-rally","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/?p=1297","title":{"rendered":"Thousands gather on National Mall for daylong prayer rally"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"border-color:var(--article-border);background-color:var(--article-inner-background)\" class=\"dcr-wqti5a\">\n<div class=\"dcr-2zxs1v\">\n<div style=\"--grid-area:media\" data-gu-name=\"media\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\">\n<div class=\"dcr-14emo0l\">\n<div class=\"dcr-tr9ye5\">\n<figure id=\"a14ce1a7-2ef1-4508-aa26-80e67a7efc14\" class=\"dcr-142siv7\">\n<div id=\"img-1\" class=\"dcr-1t8m8f2\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"A crowd with raised hands faces a large stage with blue lights and an arched backdrop\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/e338a80952672574623b9646923dddfae28d05a8\/0_0_5000_3333\/master\/5000.jpg?width=465&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none&amp;crop=none\" width=\"465\" height=\"309.969\" loading=\"eager\" class=\"dcr-evn1e9\"><span class=\"dcr-v822l1\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-gup2gr\">\n<div class=\"dcr-fntg6k\"><label for=\"the-checkbox\" class=\"dcr-1xgwz8b\"><\/label> <\/p>\n<div id=\"the-caption\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1os51wo\"><span class=\"dcr-hvsf4t\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1qvd3m6\">Rededicate 250 Religious Freedom Event On National Mall, Washington, Dc, on Sunday.<\/span> Photograph: Andrew Leyden\/ZUMA Press Wire\/Shutterstock<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><a href=\"#img-1\" data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-13fd1ms\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><button data-element-id=\"a14ce1a7-2ef1-4508-aa26-80e67a7efc14\" type=\"button\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-4tmywn\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><span class=\"dcr-194i6pr\">View image in fullscreen<\/span><\/button><\/a><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"dcr-n4pnam\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1hdkqum\"><span class=\"dcr-hvsf4t\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1qvd3m6\">Rededicate 250 Religious Freedom Event On National Mall, Washington, Dc, on Sunday.<\/span> Photograph: Andrew Leyden\/ZUMA Press Wire\/Shutterstock<\/figcaption><\/span><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:border\" data-gu-name=\"border\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:headline\" data-gu-name=\"headline\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\">\n<div class=\"dcr-14emo0l\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1aqe7zu\">\n<h1 class=\"dcr-1k1a1x\">Thousands gather on National Mall for daylong prayer rally<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:standfirst\" data-gu-name=\"standfirst\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\">\n<div class=\"dcr-15in7js\">\n<p>White House-backed event billed as \u2018One Nation Under God\u2019 criticized for blurring lines between church and state<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:body\" data-gu-name=\"body\" class=\"dcr-kn9unn\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1a4fred\">\n<div id=\"maincontent\" class=\"dcr-ydnaza\">\n<div class=\"article-body-commercial-selector article-body-viewer-selector dcr-1c9t5u6\">\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Thousands of people streamed onto the National Mall for a daylong prayer rally on Sunday billed as a \u201crededication of our country as One Nation Under God\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Against the backdrop of the Washington Monument, worship music blared from a stage that made clear the event\u2019s Christian focus. Arched stained-glass windows, set underneath grand columns resembling a federal building, depicted the nation\u2019s founders alongside a white cross.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"2818152d-b282-45a7-8899-7107b8fa97ef\" data-spacefinder-role=\"richLink\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.RichLinkBlockElement\" class=\"dcr-47fhrn\">\n<div data-print-layout=\"hide\" data-link-name=\"rich-link-2 | 2\" data-component=\"rich-link\" data-name=\"placeholder\" class=\"dcr-1kyw41h\">\n<div data-format-theme=\"5\" data-format-design=\"0\" data-format-display=\"0\" class=\"dcr-1bg5532\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/may\/13\/pete-hegseth-faith-rally-dc\" class=\"dcr-1m887w9\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-ut4tvs\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1h5b6rb\">\n<div class=\"dcr-169d7yv\">Pete Hegseth to headline DC faith rally with far-right and Christian nationalist speakers<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dcr-eurq8n\">\n<div class=\"dcr-fkf7vq\">Read more<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cAmerica is done with God, and God is not done with America,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/Freedom250\/status\/2056042800244985923\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">said Pastor Samuel Rodriguez<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The White House-backed event has drawn broad criticism for blurring the lines between church and state, as prominent Republican officials appeared to speak alongside a slate of mostly evangelical speakers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Only one name on the Rededicate 250 program, Orthodox rabbi Meir Soloveichik, was not Christian. Most were among Trump\u2019s longtime evangelical supporters, including Paula White-Cain of the White House faith office and evangelist Franklin Graham of Samaritan\u2019s Purse.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cWe are deeply concerned that what is really being rededicated is a nation to a very narrow and ideological part of the Christian faith that betrays our nation\u2019s fundamental commitment to religious freedom,\u201d said the Rev Adam Russell Taylor, a Baptist minister who leads the progressive Christian organization Sojourners.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Senator Tim Scott, a South Carolina Republican, drew cheers from the crowd as he walked up to the microphone and shouted, \u201cAre you a believer in Jesus?\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Donald Trump was expected to address the gathering, which got underway as a light rain fell, in a video message. Other top Republicans, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and House speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana, were also on the schedule as part of the celebrations this year marking 250 years of US independence.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">In a video message, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth recounted <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amrevmuseum.org\/news\/now-on-view-new-display-on-the-story-of-washington-s-prayer-at-valley-forge\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">the legend of George Washington<\/a> \u201cpraying without ceasing\u201d in Pennsylvania as his troops faced starvation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cLet us pray as he did,\u201d Hegseth said. \u201cLet us pray without ceasing. Let us pray for our nation on bended knee.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Officials expected some 15,000 people to attend, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/religion\/2026\/05\/17\/thousands-expected-rededicate-250-prayer-jubilee\/\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">according to the Washington Post<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">More than one-quarter of Americans identify as either atheist, agnostic or religiously unaffiliated, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pewresearch.org\/religion\/2024\/01\/24\/religious-nones-in-america-who-they-are-and-what-they-believe\/\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">the Pew Research Center<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-print-layout=\"hide\" class=\"dcr-qxqnsy\"><span class=\"dcr-1rq3vad\">Explore more on these topics<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-1dzx48f\">\n<ul class=\"dcr-1rrvs2w\">\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/us-news\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">US news<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/tone\/news\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">news<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dcr-nu129i\"><a href=\"mailto:?subject=Thousands%20gather%20on%20National%20Mall%20for%20daylong%20prayer%20rally&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/may\/17\/dc-national-mall-prayer-rally?CMP=share_btn_url\" class=\"dcr-125qj9d\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-zhx6xs\"><a data-link-name=\"meta-syndication-article\" href=\"https:\/\/syndication.theguardian.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fus-news%2F2026%2Fmay%2F17%2Fdc-national-mall-prayer-rally&amp;type=article&amp;internalpagecode=us-news\/2026\/may\/17\/dc-national-mall-prayer-rally\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" title=\"Reuse this content\" class=\"dcr-14rjinq\">Reuse this content<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:right-column\" data-gu-name=\"right-column\" class=\"dcr-1h2hraq\">\n<div class=\"dcr-tn16h9\">\n<section class=\"dcr-1hko8ef\"><\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Rededicate 250 Religious Freedom Event On National Mall, Washington, Dc, on Sunday. Photograph: Andrew Leyden\/ZUMA Press Wire\/Shutterstock View<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":1313,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1297","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1297","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1297"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1297\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1299,"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1297\/revisions\/1299"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1313"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1297"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1297"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1297"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}