“God bless America” On Sunday, RNS reporters Jack Jenkins, Aleja Hertzler-McCain and Adelle M. Banks, were at the National Mall to cover “Rededicate 250: A National Jubilee Of Prayer, Praise & Thanksgiving.” The day-long event featured a lineup of religious leaders, government officials, musical acts and media personalities — almost all of them Christian and most of them evangelical — who championed the idea that the U.S. has a religious founding, and that its future success depends on prayer. “Just as we in the beginning dedicated this land to your most holy name, today, here, Lord, in this 250th year of American independence, we hereby rededicate the United States of America as one nation under God,” said House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Southern Baptist, from the stage. The speakers were met with an enthusiastic crowd of thousands, many clad in red, white and blue and waving Jesus banners. “I think they’re bringing on the Holy Spirit over our country, and I’m proud to be an American,” one woman, who traveled from Florida, told RNS. Top Stories | WASHINGTON (RNS) — The speakers largely advanced the ideas that the U.S. has a religious — and particularly Christian — founding and that its future success depends on prayer. |
 | (RNS) — Faith leaders will first gather at Selma’s Tabernacle Baptist Church for a prayer service before marching silently on the Edmund Pettus Bridge toward the Alabama State Capitol in Montgomery. |
 | (FāVS News) — In his new book, Sutton argues Christianity has shaped American identity and politics for centuries. |
 | (RNS) — The National Association of Evangelicals, the Assemblies of God, CityServe International and Love Has No Limits are among the organizations encouraging community service on Saturday. |
Opinion | (RNS) — But the ancestors of today’s Christian nationalists weren’t the leaders of Christian America — they were the heretics. |
 | (RNS) — A new report documents the unimaginable sexual violence of Oct. 7, 2023. I am done softening what I now know. |
ICYMI | (RNS) — As the U.S. embraces aggressive anti-immigrant policies, Clarkston, Georgia, is now a test of how to best protect the diverse community of refugees. |
 | (RNS) — But a new poll finds many Americans aren’t comfortable mixing religion and politics. |
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