‘Rededication’ event to leave out broad swath of American Christianity as well as other faiths
Speakers at religious celebration appear to have been chosen for loyalty to Trump
A patriotic event that will almost certainly be the largest government-cosponsored religious gathering in U.S. history promises to bring together “Americans of every background” and a “broad assembly of voices” to a May 17 celebration billed as a “rededication of our country as One Nation to God.”
But, in fact, there is nothing in the lineup to suggest anything close to a diverse background of Americans.
Maybe it’s too much to suggest that something that is so clearly religious in nature would bring together atheists, “nones” or others who aren’t religious to have any visible role, even though the National Mall event is partially sponsored by federal government agencies. But the “faith leaders” slated to speak also do not include any minority religious groups such as Muslims, Hindus or Buddhists.
And they barely include any non-Protestants: Of the 19 speakers described as “faith leaders” there is only one Jew and one Catholic — and each of them is at the far conservative end of his faith tradition rather than being more representative of his faith. All the rest are evangelical Protestants, most of them clearly of a Christian nationalist persuasion. And while the Southern Baptist Convention is represented, there are no mainline Protestants (think mainstream Presbyterians and Methodists) nor other major denominations such as the Assemblies of God or the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. While the group is racially diverse, there also are no representatives of the country’s leading historically black Christian denominations.
What the speakers appear to have in common more than leadership in faith communities is a commitment to President Donald Trump’s leadership. Most have been been supporters of him to varying degrees since his 2016 campaign, and most of them have continued to defend his leadership even as part of his MAGA base has become disaffected over the Iran war and increasingly unhinged and even blasphemous pronouncements on social media1.
The Rededication event will be held on Sunday, May 17, for a full day beginning at 8 a.m. at the National Mall with a sunrise worship service that will be livestreamed online and in participating evangelical churches across the country.
The event is organized by Freedom 250, Trump’s entity tied to government and private sponsorships to organize celebrations of the country’s 250th anniversary. Although the partial government funding of the event raises constitutional questions about separation of church and state, there have to date been no serious efforts to prevent the celebration. Freedom 250 has, however, come under fire from numerous organizations, many of them politically liberal, for using this year’s celebratory events to present a distorted version of American history and to provide a way for sometimes anonymous donors to curry favor with Trump.
To get a flavor of the religious tone that the event will have, here’s a quick look at the 19 speakers described as faith leaders who will be participating in the event2:
🟪 Reverend Franklin Graham is the president and CEO of Samaritan’s Purse and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. He has been a longtime supporter of Trump.
🟪 Cardinal Timothy Dolan is a former Catholic archbishop of New York. He has been a controversial figure; among his more recent statements that have come under fire is one he made in an interview comparing the late Charlie Kirk with St. Paul, calling Kirk “a modern-day St. Paul. He was a missionary, he’s an evangelist, he’s a hero. He’s one I think that knew what Jesus meant when he said, ‘The truth will set you free.’”
🟪 Pastor Jack Graham is the senior pastor of Prestonwood Baptist Church, one of country’s largest churches, based in Plano, Texas.
🟪 Pastor Jentezen Franklin is the senior pastor of the Free Chapel evangelical megachurch based in Gainesville, Fla. He is known in part for his strong advocacy for Israel.
🟪 Rabbi Meir Soloveichik is the senior rabbi of Congregation Shearith Israel in New York City and the only non-Christian founding member of Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission. In August 2012 he gave opening prayer at Republican Convention.
🟪 Pastor Jonathan Falwell is the chancellor of Liberty University and senior pastor of Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg, Va.
🟪 Pastor Jonathan Pokluda is the lead pastor of Harris Creek Baptist Church, a megachurch in Waco, Texas. He was heavily criticized in 2023 for statements he made that were seen as objectifying women’s bodies, and again this year for stating on Instagram: “Why do I have a desire to sleep with beautiful women while I’m a married man?”
🟪 Pastor Lorenzo Sewell has been an outspokenTrump supporter and pastor of the 180 Church, a Detroit-based megachurch.
🟪 Pastor Gary Hamrick is the founding and senior pastor of Cornerstone Chapel, an evangelical megachurch in Loudoun County, Va.
🟪 Pastor Andy Frank, who is relatively unknown, is described by organizers as a faith leader and national ministry voice focused on discipleship and leadership development.
🟪 Reverend Samuel Rodriguez is the lead pastor of New Season Church in Sacramento, Calif., and president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference. He also has been a producer of faith-based films such as Dream, Breakthrough and Flamin’ Hot.
🟪 Lou Engles is a co-founder of TheCall and an apostle in the New Apostolic Reformation movement. He has organized numerous large prayer rallies with right-wing political overtones.
🟪 Pastor Dr. Robert Jeffress is one of the best-known speakers as the senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Dallas. He has been an outspoken supporter of conservative political candidates and has been a Fox News commentator,
🟪 Gordon P. Robertson is the chancellor of Regent University and president of Christian Broadcasting Network.
🟪 Bishop Kelvin Cobaris is the lead Pastor of New Life Church International in Plant City, Fla. On his church website he says he “is a child prodigy preacher and started preaching at the age of five.”
🟪 Pastor Paula White is the senior adviser to the White House Faith Office.
🟪 Alveda King has been a longtime anti-abortion activist. She is a niece of the late civil rights leader Martin Luther King as well as an author and former member of the Georgia House of Representatives.
🟪 Pastor Andy Deane is the lead pastor of another megachurch, Cornerstone Community Church in Wildomar, Calif.
Among the other speakers scheduled for the event are Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Speaker Mike Johnson and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Most notably, early Easter morning Trump used his social media company, Truth Social, to post an artificial intelligence-generated image of him with an appearance like that found in classical artwork of Jesus, healing the sick. Trump later removed the post after a public outcry.
The first two listed as well as Trump’s personal spiritual adviser, Paula White, will speak via video message. Titles such as “bishop” and “pastor” used in this list come from official Freedom 250 announcements.