Dear Redeeming Democracy Readers,
I’ve had a busy weekend. I spent half the day on Sunday down on the National Mall attending Rededicate250, an event sponsored by the White House as part of the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the nation (Shout out to my friend Dr. Steve Livingston, Professor of Media and Public Affairs at George Washington University, who came with me and shared his own astute observations). Today, I’ve talked to both NPR and CNN about what I saw and what I think it means.
You can watch my interview on CNN Situation Room above or here at CNN. And you can listen to the interview on NPR’s “Morning Edition” below. And scroll down for a photojournalism-style account of my encounter with the bad faith on the National Mall.
Postcards from My Visit to the Rededicate250 White Christian Nationalist Event on the DC National Mall
My wife Jodi Kanter is a performance studies scholar. Over the years, she’s taught me how to read a stage. As I made my way onto the green grass of the National Mall in Washington, DC, even before I could make out the audio and hear the words of any speakers, I was struck by the setting.
The stage itself was strategically placed in the shadow of the majestic Washington monument. It was framed vertically by four 40-foot fluted columns (Trump is obsessed with columns) and a faux stone cornice with dental molding, evoking a federal government building.
The backdrop featured a different faux stone wall, this one mimicking a church with three arched stained-glass windows. The largest window, dominating the stage, contained a 30-foot white cross—notably not a crucifix that would be found in Catholic spaces but an empty cross that would be familiar sight in evangelical Protestant services.
With this staging, the attack on the First Amendment to the Constitution could not have been be more clear: In this portrayal, an evangelical Protestant church is literally embedded inside the structures of government.
The content followed the setting. When I first arrived, someone near me jokingly but enthusiastically exclaimed, “Look, Jesus is speaking!” On stage was actor Jonathan Roumie, who plays Jesus on the series “The Chosen.” Even beyond his TV fame, Roumie is a familiar figure and hero to this audience, having also appeared at Christian Right events such as the 2023 March for Life in DC. One couple with whom I spoke travel all over the country to hear Roumie speak when they’re not volunteering as crowd extras on the set of “The Chosen” (making their own costumes and giving a donation of $1,200 each to the show for the privilege).
But I couldn’t stop thinking about the layers of theological distortions on the stage. Evangelical Christianity as the glowing heart of the government. The absurdity of a bespoke-suited Jesus, wearing a shiny lapel pin depicting the instrument of his execution painted with the stars and stripes.
The speaker lineup also made it clear that this event was in no way intended to represent the rich diversity of America. All of the featured public officials were Republicans in Trump’s close orbit. Nearly all the religious leaders were Christian, many drawn from Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission or his so-called “faith advisory group.” The overwhelming majority were from the white evangelical Protestant world—a group that comprises only 13% of the public and only 20% of American Christians.
As someone who has studied religion in the public square for more than two decades, this event marks yet another bright line being crossed by the Trump administration, a further crass instrumentalization of religion for political ends. In the MAGA world, the gentler spirit of a more inclusive civil religion—present in my memories of the public celebrations of the bicentennial in 1976—has been exorcised in favor of the malevolent militancy of Christian nationalism. The call for salvation of individuals and the nation, not just through God but through “our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,” came not just from the likes of Franklin Graham but U.S. government cabinet member Pete Hegseth.
Overall, the vibe of Rededicate250 was somewhere between an evangelical outdoor revival meeting and a Trump rally. As you can see in the photos I took below, the attendees represented an exceedingly narrow slice of the American public and even American Christianity. I’d estimate the crowd was 95% white. While there were some families in attendance, most participants seemed to be in their 50s or 60s. You were just as likely to encounter folks decked out in Christian t-shirts as Trump merch (or both). Of the dozens I talked to, all but one (a young Catholic man who was wary of this mixing of partisan politics and faith) were some variety of white evangelical Protestant.
It was deflating to see an official event celebrating the 250th anniversary of the nation clearly taking aim at one of our most cherished and hard-one achievements, the separation of church and state that ensures a government free of religious establishment and a people free to practice a wide variety of religions or none.
As I exited past “The Freedom Truck,” however, I found hope in remembering what the data clearly show: that this narrow Christian nationalist vision is one rejected not only by two-thirds of the country by even by most Christians.
My New Book, BACKSLIDE, Now Available.
My new book, BACKSLIDE: Reclaiming a Faith and a Nation after the Christian Turn Against Democracy, is now available for pre-order wherever books are sold.
I’ve been working on this book for the last three years, wrestling with this Christian nationalist movement that was on display at the Rededicate250 event. It’s the most personal, unflinching, and urgent book I’ve written. And it’s almost here.
BACKSLIDE is available in hardcover, ebook, and audio book everywhere books are sold. (Note: Ordering through Bookshop or Amazon using the links below helps support this newsletter, while ordering a signed copy helps support my local independent bookstore, People’s Book).
