Thousands of people gathered Sunday in downtown Washington DC, for a mass prayer festival featuring speeches by top Trump administration officials — an event critics see as an overt display of Christian nationalism undermining the US’s separation of church and state.

Attendees sang and swayed to Christian music blared out on the National Mall, along with addresses by Christian pastors. One rabbi is also included in the lineup for the event, called “Rededicate 250,” which came one day after a “Shabbat 250” that was promoted by US President Donald Trump and received mixed reactions from Jewish leaders.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson were listed as guest speakers. Trump and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio were set to address the crowd via video.

The gathering was organized by the White House as part of a program of celebrations for America’s 250th anniversary and, in a video message inviting Americans to attend, Hegseth said it was an opportunity to “rededicate this republic to God and country.”

Muscular Christian nationalism has enjoyed a prominent platform since Trump’s return to power, and evangelicals form a core element of the president’s support base.

From the stage, the Rev. Robert Jeffress embraced the term, which is often taken as a pejorative. “If being a Christian nationalist means loving Jesus Christ and loving America, count me in,” said the prominent Southern Baptist pastor.

Hegseth is a member of an ultra-conservative evangelical church, and his briefings on the Iran war have been notable for their use of bellicose, Christian rhetoric. He also once paraphrased a fake Bible verse featured in the movie “Pulp Fiction.”

“Today, friends, we are in a spiritual war. This is a battle in our day between good and evil, between right and wrong, between truth and lies, between light and darkness,” Pastor Gary Hamrick of Virginia told the crowd. “This is a battle for the very soul of America.”

The US Constitution explicitly bars the establishment of any official religion. The expression of any faith is also explicitly protected. US Jewish organizations have historically been outspoken advocates for safeguarding the separation of church and state.

The only non-Christian speaker on the lineup is Rabbi Meir Soloveichik, an Orthodox rabbi and senior scholar at........

© The Times of Israel