president Donald Trump Many of his prominent Christian supporters and top Republicans are participating this week in a marathon Bible reading in an America 250-themed event described as encouraging “a return to the spiritual foundation that shaped our country.”
The America Reads the Bible event — where each participant reads a passage aloud — is being broadcast live this week from the Museum of the Bible in Washington and other locations. A video of Trump is scheduled to be shown Tuesday evening reading a passage calling for national repentance in ancient Israel — words that have been used prominently for decades by those who promote the belief that America was and should be a Christian nation.
The Bible is “indelibly woven into our national identity and way of life,” Trump said in a statement commemorating the event. The statement cited historical figures such as Puritan leader John Winthrop “imploring his fellow Christian settlers to be a beacon of faith for all the world to see.”
Critics say the event features a highly partisan list of participants and is part of a larger project to link America’s upcoming 250th birthday with a Christian nationalist vision that envisions… Founding of the nation As fundamentally Christian, something many historians dispute. White Christians, especially evangelicals, were crucial to Trump Electoral base.
The list of participants — which overwhelmingly includes Republican politicians and Christian supporters of Trump — shows it is “a very right-wing effort, a Christian nationalist effort,” said Brian Caylor, author of “The Bible According to Christian Nationalists: Exploiting the Bible for Political Power.”
“If they wanted this to be a unified American project, there would have been a lot of interest in having political diversity and ideological diversity,” added Caylor, president and editor-in-chief of Word magazine.&The Way, a progressive site covering faith and politics.
Historian Jemar Tisby, whose books have challenged what he says is enduring Christian complicity in racism, criticized the event on Facebook: “You can’t quote the Bible while justifying violence, war and exclusion.”
Reading the Bible alone is not enough, said Bonnie Bounds, founder of Christian Engaged. “Faith without works is dead,” she said, adding: “We need the word first to bring faith into our lives.”
The bible event comes just a week after Trump came under rare criticism from his evangelical supporters for posting a meme on social media that featured a white-robed Trump as a Jesus-like wizard surrounded by patriotic symbols. Trump removed the image from his Truth Social website while insisting he was depicted as a doctor, not Jesus.
It also comes shortly after the high-profile clash between Trump and the US-born Trump Pope Leo XIV Concerning the Iran war.
Other high-ranking officials have been or will read Bible passages in person or via video. Among them are Cabinet officials such as the Minister of Defense Pete Hegseth Secretary of State Marco Rubio, as well as House Speaker Mike Johnson and several other Republican members of Congress. Among Trump’s prominent evangelical supporters participating are evangelist Franklin Graham, Reverend Jack Graham, and Reverend Paula White Cain, who heads Trump’s White House faith office.
Bounds said the organization invited Democratic members of Congress as well as leaders of some sects that might be considered progressive, but they did not accept them.
Each speaker takes a turn in the continuing reading of the 66 books of the Bible as recognized by Protestants. Jews recognize the Hebrew portion of the Bible that Christians call the Old Testament but not the Jesus-centered New Testament books, while Catholics and Orthodox recognize additional books of the Bible that are not included in this reading. The event includes some Catholic representatives, including the president of CatholicVote, which has endorsed Trump in 2024.
The event includes a comprehensive reading of the entire Bible, from the famous verses (“I will let my people go,” “The Lord is my Shepherd”) to the obscure verses. The passages range from the creation of the world to bloody battles and horrific destruction, from preaching to love of God, neighbor, and those in need to passages telling of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection.
The event’s organizer is Christian Engaged, a nonprofit whose stated mission includes “discipling Americans in a biblical worldview and their responsibilities to pray, vote, and participate.”
Trump’s appearance will be from the Oval Office, where he will read from Chapter 7 of 2 Chronicles, which takes place during King Solomon’s dedication of the Temple in ancient Jerusalem. In it, God promises forgiveness if a future generation rebels and then repents: “If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
This verse has long been quoted at many conservative Christian gatherings and political events such as the 2024 Republican National Convention.
Bounds noted that the Chronicles passage has for decades been a major topic at annual National Day of Prayer events, and that organizers have invited Trump to read from it. “It’s a strong statement that he decided to read that passage,” she said.
The Bible reading marathon comes a few weeks before the May 17 event called the “National Jubilee of Prayer, Praise and Thanksgiving” which will be held on the National Mall. It’s the culminating event of America Prays, a project Trump announced last year in conjunction with America 250, which calls for prayers for the country and “redevoting ourselves to one nation under God.”
Many of the groups and individuals participating in America Prays are also participating in this week’s Bible reading event.
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