White House Rededicate 250 Leaves Non-Christians Out

Rededicate 250 – As President Donald Trump’s America 250 celebrations ramp up with an all-day prayer event at the National Mall on May 17, critics say the White House’s version of U.S. religious history is narrowed to one tradition—platforming Christian evangelical leaders whi

For the second term of President Donald Trump. the script has been clear since early in the year—religion. in the White House’s telling. is the glue holding the country together. At the annual National Prayer Breakfast in February. Trump pledged: “We’re going to rededicate America as one nation under God.” He added. “I’ve always said. ” that “you just can’t have a great country if you don’t have religion.”.

That promise is now playing out in the White House’s America 250 push, and critics say what’s missing from the celebration is as telling as what’s included.

On May 17, the White House will hold an all-day prayer festival at the National Mall for Rededicate 250. The event will feature primarily Christian evangelical faith leaders. The exceptions are an Orthodox rabbi and two Catholic bishops.

The White House also launched an initiative asking Americans to pray for an hour every week. It issued a document of notable Christian prayers and one Jewish blessing.

Rachel Laser. president and CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and State. doesn’t mince words about what that mix signals. “This administration is dangerously advancing the Christian nationalist goal of establishing America as a Christian nation,” Laser said. “The problem is that America won’t be America if that goal comes to fruition.”.

Laser and other civic leaders and religious experts argue that Trump’s depiction of American history through a mostly Christian lens is wrong—and that the White House is moving in a direction that could erode the separation of church and state.

They point to what non-Christian Americans say they’ve been watching for years: religious messaging that excludes the majority of faiths outside Christianity, even as those traditions have shaped U.S. history and culture.

David McMahan. a professor of religious studies at Franklin & Marshall College who has published books about Buddhism. said the omissions are particularly stark when the nation is marking 250 years. He said Buddhism and Hinduism have played “a vital role” in the country’s history and are increasingly influencing American culture.

McMahan traced that presence back to the 19th century, when people emigrated from China and India to help mine gold and build the country’s railroad system. He also said practices rooted in those traditions—yoga, meditation and mindfulness—are growing in popularity.

“It’s a shame that this milestone in American history doesn’t take more account of that diversity,” McMahan said. He described the current approach as something more than oversight. “This is kind of the first administration that has almost refused to acknowledge that diversity and really seems to be trying to tailor the celebration of this milestone in very exclusivist terms. in very nativist terms.”.

Muslim Americans say their exclusion is not an accident either.

Edward Ahmed Mitchell. national deputy director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)—described as the country’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy group—said Muslim Americans have been shut out by the messaging for Rededicate 250. He also raised the broader contradiction between the White House’s celebration and the country’s lived religious diversity.

Mitchell pointed to what he called the narrow framing of America as a Christian nation founded on traditional values. He referenced Trump’s repeated demonization of Muslims, including Trump’s mocking comments that “Islam hates us.”

Mitchell said the White House’s focus ignores how many enslaved people brought to America in the early 16th century were practicing Muslims. He said enslaved Muslims who were kidnapped from areas along the West African coast—including the Fulani territory and areas along the Gambia River—were often forced to convert to Christianity or practice their religion in secret.

“Regardless of who is. who is not represented at this event. I think the American people increasingly recognize the role that Muslim Americans play in our society. from politics to media to sports. ” Mitchell said. “They can try to erase the Muslims from as many events as they want. but they can’t erase Muslims from America or from the American consciousness.”.

He tied that argument to prominent names across public life, pointing from New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani to Jaylen Brown, a soon-to-be Philadelphia 76ers star.

Mitchell also highlighted a recent episode where he said the White House got something wrong about Muslim history in its traveling museums called Freedom Trucks. He said that when the White House finally did acknowledge the history of Muslim Americans earlier in the year. it falsely claimed boxing star Muhammad Ali had disavowed his Muslim faith. Mitchell said CAIR had pleaded with the White House to correct the inaccuracy. but he said the White House has yet to make a correction or apologize.

“It’s unacceptable and it’s a sign of how deeply flawed this campaign is in some ways,” he said.

In a statement to HuffPost, White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers defended the event. Rogers said: “Rededicate 250 was a powerful and impactful event in our nation’s capital to celebrate freedom of religion for all people of faith — a cornerstone of the sacred principles enshrined in our Constitution by the founding fathers.”.

Rogers continued: “Americans came together on the National Mall to rededicate this country as ‘one nation under God.’ It was be a beautiful and unifying moment as we continue to reflect on America’s history that has been shaped by many great men and women of faith,” she said.

Mitchell said it wouldn’t surprise him if leaders from minority denominations weren’t interested in participating, given what he described as hostility the administration has expressed toward their communities.

“It’s kind of insulting and inappropriate that a diverse array of religions are not included, but at the same time even if the invitation was extended, would I really expect prominent imams or progressive rabbis or people of other faiths to attend?” Mitchell said.

For Laser, the absence of non-Christians from Trump’s celebrations isn’t just a symbolic issue. She argued that it distorts the country.

“The White House is getting America completely wrong,” Laser said. “At our 250th anniversary. we should be celebrating … the guarantee of religious freedom that allows the religious pluralism in our country to thrive and stops the conflict and divides that come from the government playing favorites when it comes to religion.”.

A Pew Research Center study from 2021 found that a majority of Americans believe the government should never declare an official religion.

Laser said the White House’s push doesn’t begin and end with Rededicate 250. She pointed to the Religious Liberty Commission the White House established last year to develop policies aimed at permanently damaging the wall between church and state—at least as Laser frames it.

She also cited the way states have moved toward religious displays in public schools, saying that several states have moved to require the Ten Commandments be displayed in classrooms. Laser added that Texas recently added the Bible to a list of required readings.

She described Christian nationalism as a reaction to changing demographics and politics.

“The swell in Christian nationalism is a direct result of increasing diversity and progressive movements across the country that threaten the ultra-conservative, Laser argued,” according to her view. She then linked the backlash she sees to questions of power.

“They’re creating a backlash where Christian nationalists are raging against the dying of their privilege in this country,” Laser said. “and they’re willing to even take down this country in order to sustain the traditional power structures that they want.”

The White House’s Rededicate 250 event. set to take place on the National Mall on May 17. is being sold as a moment of shared national faith. But the people arguing against it say the invitation list and the messaging tell a different story—one where the celebration of religious freedom is being narrowed into a celebration of one version of America.

United States politics White House Donald Trump America 250 Rededicate 250 National Mall National Day of Prayer separation of church and state Christian nationalism religious freedom National Prayer Breakfast Americans United for Separation of Church and State Rachel Laser CAIR Edward Ahmed Mitchell Muhammad Ali Religious Liberty Commission Ten Commandments Texas Bible readings