Thousands flock to the National Mall in Washington for an America-themed prayer rally

Thousands flock to the National Mall in Washington for an America-themed prayer rally 1 of 5 | A person prays during Rededicate 250, a mostly conservative Christian prayer gathering in honor of the United States’ 250th anniversary, on the National Mall, Sunday, May 17, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson) 2 of 5 | Secretary of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, of La., Secretary of State Marco Rubio Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C. Chief of Protocol of the United States Ambassador Monica Crowley Dr. Ben Carson, Founder and Chairman of the American Cornerstone Institute Major General Patrick Brady, USA (Ret.) Medal of Honor Recipient and retired United States Army Major General President of Hillsdale College Dr. Larry Arnn speaks during the Rededicate 250: A National Jubilee Of Prayer, Praise & Thanksgiving, Sunday, May 17, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.) 3 of 5 | People worship to Christian music at Rededicate 250, a mostly conservative Christian prayer gathering in honor of the United States’ 250th anniversary, on the National Mall, Sunday, May 17, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson) 4 of 5 | People worship to Christian music at Rededicate 250, a mostly conservative Christian prayer gathering in honor of the United States’ 250th anniversary, on the National Mall, Sunday, May 17, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson) 5 of 5 | People worship to Christian music at Rededicate 250, a mostly conservative Christian prayer gathering in honor of the United States’ 250th anniversary, on the National Mall, Sunday, May 17, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson) 1 of 5 | A person prays during Rededicate 250, a mostly conservative Christian prayer gathering in honor of the United States’ 250th anniversary, on the National Mall, Sunday, May 17, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson) 1 of 5 A person prays during Rededicate 250, a mostly conservative Christian prayer gathering in honor of the United States’ 250th anniversary, on the National Mall, Sunday, May 17, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share 2 of 5 | Secretary of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, of La., Secretary of State Marco Rubio Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C. Chief of Protocol of the United States Ambassador Monica Crowley Dr. Ben Carson, Founder and Chairman of the American Cornerstone Institute Major General Patrick Brady, USA (Ret.) Medal of Honor Recipient and retired United States Army Major General President of Hillsdale College Dr. Larry Arnn speaks during the Rededicate 250: A National Jubilee Of Prayer, Praise & Thanksgiving, Sunday, May 17, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.) 2 of 5 Secretary of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, of La., Secretary of State Marco Rubio Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C. Chief of Protocol of the United States Ambassador Monica Crowley Dr. Ben Carson, Founder and Chairman of the American Cornerstone Institute Major General Patrick Brady, USA (Ret.) Medal of Honor Recipient and retired United States Army Major General President of Hillsdale College Dr. Larry Arnn speaks during the Rededicate 250: A National Jubilee Of Prayer, Praise & Thanksgiving, Sunday, May 17, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share 3 of 5 | People worship to Christian music at Rededicate 250, a mostly conservative Christian prayer gathering in honor of the United States’ 250th anniversary, on the National Mall, Sunday, May 17, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson) 3 of 5 People worship to Christian music at Rededicate 250, a mostly conservative Christian prayer gathering in honor of the United States’ 250th anniversary, on the National Mall, Sunday, May 17, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share 4 of 5 | People worship to Christian music at Rededicate 250, a mostly conservative Christian prayer gathering in honor of the United States’ 250th anniversary, on the National Mall, Sunday, May 17, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson) 4 of 5 People worship to Christian music at Rededicate 250, a mostly conservative Christian prayer gathering in honor of the United States’ 250th anniversary, on the National Mall, Sunday, May 17, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share 5 of 5 | People worship to Christian music at Rededicate 250, a mostly conservative Christian prayer gathering in honor of the United States’ 250th anniversary, on the National Mall, Sunday, May 17, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson) 5 of 5 People worship to Christian music at Rededicate 250, a mostly conservative Christian prayer gathering in honor of the United States’ 250th anniversary, on the National Mall, Sunday, May 17, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Updated [hour]:[minute] [AMPM] [timezone], [monthFull] [day], [year] Washington (AP) — Thousands of people streamed onto the National Mall for a daylong prayer rally Sunday billed as a “rededication of our country as One Nation under God.”Against the backdrop of the Washington Monument, worship music blared from a stage that made clear the event’s Christian focus. Arched stained-glass windows, set underneath grand columns resembling a federal building, depicted the nation’s founders alongside a white cross.Several speakers celebrated Christianity’s ties to American history, a blending of ideas that critics flagged ahead of the prayer gathering as supporting Christian nationalism.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. President Donald Trump was expected to address the gathering in a video message. Other top Republicans, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., were also on the schedule as part of the celebrations this year marking 250 years of U.S. independence. 3 MIN READ 2 MIN READ 6 MIN READ Only one name on the Rededicate 250 program was not Christian. Most were among Trump’s longtime evangelical supporters, including Paula White-Cain of the White House Faith Office and evangelist Franklin Graham of Samaritan’s Purse. “We 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’s fundamental commitment to religious freedom,” said the Rev. Adam Russell Taylor, a Baptist minister who leads the progressive Christian organization Sojourners.The conservative Christian lineup featured guests who often argue that the United States was founded as a Christian nation, a narrative disputed by many historians and other religious traditions. Rabbi Jonah Dov Pesner, director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, noted the religious diversity of early America, including Jews, Muslims and Indigenous people. “I want to shine a light on America’s history as a nation that welcomes, celebrates, and protects people of all faiths and those of no faith,” Pesner said.Hegseth, who has infused Christian language and worship with his role leading the Pentagon, asked the gathering in a video to pray to “our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” Referencing George Washington’s faith, he said, “Let us pray without ceasing. Let us pray for our nation on bended knee.”Orthodox Jewish Rabbi Meir Soloveichik was the only non-Christian religious leader listed on the program. He serves on the Trump administration’s Religious Liberty Commission along with White-Cain, Graham and Cardinal Timothy Dolan and Bishop Robert Barron, Catholic clerics also featured on the program.The event was organized by Freedom 250, a public-private partnership backed by the White House. Congressional Democrats have questioned the nonprofit’s structure and finances, which they see as a Trump-controlled end run around a separate commission charted by Congress a decade ago to prepare semiquincentennial events. Progressive groups planned counterprogramming. Among them were the Freedom From Religion Foundation, which advocates a strict separation of church and state, and the Christian group Faithful America.On Thursday evening, the Interfaith Alliance projected protest slogans onto an exterior wall of the National Gallery of Art. “Democracy not theocracy,” said one. Another said: “The separation of church and state is good for both.”Associated Press writer Peter Smith in Pittsburgh contributed to this report. Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. Stanley is a reporter and editor on The Associated Press’ Global Religion team. She is based in Washington, D.C.