President and many of his leading Christian supporters and top Republicans are taking part this week in a marathon reading of the Bible in an America 250-themed event billed as encouraging a 鈥渞eturn to the spiritual foundation that has shaped our country.鈥�
The America Reads the Bible event 鈥� with each participant reading a passage aloud 鈥� is being livestreamed from the Museum of the Bible in Washington and other locations. It featured a video of Trump from the Oval Office on Tuesday evening that called for national repentance in ancient Israel 鈥� words that have been used prominently for decades by those promoting the belief that America has been and should be a Christian nation.
Trump recited the passage from his desk with his hands folded on an open Bible in front of him, though he was looking straight into the camera. The video cut back and forth between two camera angles.
The Bible is 鈥渋ndelibly woven into our national identity and way of life,鈥� Trump said in a statement commemorating the event. The statement cited historical figures such as the Puritan leader John Winthrop as 鈥渋mploring his fellow Christian settlers to stand as a beacon of faith for all the world to see.鈥�
Critics say the event has a highly partisan list of participants and is part of a larger project to connect America’s upcoming 250th birthday with a Christian nationalist vision that portrays as essentially Christian, something many historians dispute. White Christians, particularly evangelicals, have been crucial to Trump’s .
The list of participants 鈥� which overwhelmingly includes Republican politicians and Christian supporters of Trump 鈥� shows it to be 鈥渧ery much a right-wing MAGA, Christian nationalist effort,鈥� said Brian Kaylor, author of 鈥淭he Bible According to Christian Nationalists: Exploiting Scripture for Political Power,鈥� referring to Trump鈥檚 鈥淢ake America Great Again鈥� movement.
鈥淚f they wanted this to be a unifying American project, there would have been a whole lot more attention to getting political diversity and ideological diversity,鈥� added Kaylor, president and editor-in-chief of Word&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: 鈥淵ou cannot quote the Bible while justifying violence, war and exclusion.鈥� Pastor Doug Pagitt, executive director of the progressive group Vote Common Good, echoed the comment in a statement: 鈥淚f you like reading the Bible, try living it.鈥�
Bunni Pounds, founder of Christians Engaged, organizer of the event, said that reading the Bible alone isn’t enough. 鈥淔aith without works is dead,鈥� she said, adding: 鈥淲e need the word first to bring faith into our life.鈥�
Trump’s latest faith-related tensions
The Bible event comes just a week after Trump drew rare criticism from his evangelical supporters for circulating a social media meme in which a white-robed Trump appeared as a Jesus-like healer surrounded by patriotic symbols. Trump removed the image from his Truth Social site while insisting he was depicted as a doctor, not Jesus.
It also comes shortly after Trump’s high-profile clash with the U.S.-born over the Iran war.
Other high-ranking officials have been or will be reading biblical passages in person or by video in the event, which began Sunday and concludes Saturday. They include Cabinet officials such as Defense Secretary and Secretary of State Marco Rubio as well as House Speaker Mike Johnson and several other Republican members of Congress. Prominent evangelical supporters of Trump who are participating include evangelist Franklin Graham, pastor Jack Graham and pastor Paula White-Cain, who heads Trump’s White House Faith Office.
Pounds said that the organization invited Democratic members of Congress as well as leaders of some denominations that might be considered progressive but that they didn鈥檛 accept.
Each speaker is taking a turn in the ongoing 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 New Testament books centered on Jesus, while Catholics and Orthodox recognize additional books of the Bible that are not included in this reading. The event does include some Catholic representation, including the president of CatholicVote, which endorsed Trump in 2024.
The event involves a comprehensive reading of the entire Bible, from the famous verses (鈥淟et my people go,鈥� 鈥淭he Lord is my shepherd鈥�) to the obscure. Passages range from the creation of the world to bloody battles and apocalyptic destruction, from exhortations to love of God, neighbor and the needy to passages telling of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection.
Trump will read from 2 Chronicles
Christians Engaged, the organizer, is a nonprofit whose stated mission includes 鈥渄iscipling Americans on biblical worldview and their responsibilities to pray, vote and engage.鈥�
Trump read from the seventh chapter of 2 Chronicles, set during King Solomon’s dedication of the temple in ancient Jerusalem. In it, God promises forgiveness if a future generation rebels then repents: 鈥淚f my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.鈥�
The verse has long been quoted at many conservative Christian rallies and political events, such as the 2024 Republican National Convention.
Pounds noted that the Chronicles passage has for decades been a major theme at annual National Day of Prayer events and that organizers invited Trump to read from it. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a powerful statement that he decided to read that passage,鈥� she said.
The Bible-reading marathon comes just weeks before a May 17 event called a 鈥淣ational Jubilee of Prayer, Praise, and Thanksgiving,鈥� to be held on the National Mall. It’s the climactic event of 鈥淎merica Prays,鈥� a project Trump announced last year in conjunction with America 250, calling for prayer for the country and to 鈥渞ededicate ourselves to one nation under God.鈥�
Several of the groups and individuals involved in America Prays are also participating in this week鈥檚 Bible reading event.
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