{"id":405841,"date":"2026-04-22T22:23:29","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T22:23:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/405841\/"},"modified":"2026-04-22T22:23:29","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T22:23:29","slug":"trump-reads-from-bible-in-america-250-event-that-critics-accuse-of-christian-nationalism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/405841\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump reads from Bible in America 250 event that critics accuse of Christian nationalism"},"content":{"rendered":"

US President Donald Trump and many of his leading Republican and Christian supporters are taking part this week in a marathon reading of the Bible in an America 250-themed event encouraging a \u201creturn to the spiritual foundation that has shaped our country.\u201d<\/p>\n

The America Reads the Bible event \u2014 with each participant reading a passage aloud \u2014 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 reading an Old Testament passage that called for national repentance in ancient Israel \u2014 words that have been used prominently for decades by those promoting the belief that America has been and should be a Christian nation.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

The Bible is \u201cindelibly woven into our national identity and way of life,\u201d Trump said in a statement<\/a> commemorating the event. The statement cited historical figures such as the Puritan leader John Winthrop as \u201cimploring his fellow Christian settlers to stand as a beacon of faith for all the world to see.\u201d<\/p>\n

Critics say the event has a highly partisan list of participants and is part of a larger project to connect the United States\u2019 upcoming 250th birthday with a Christian nationalist vision that portrays the nation\u2019s founding as essentially Christian, something many historians dispute. White Christians, particularly evangelicals, have been crucial to Trump\u2019s electoral base.<\/p>\n

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The list of participants \u2014 which overwhelmingly includes Republican politicians and Christian supporters of Trump \u2014 shows it to be \u201cvery much a right-wing MAGA, Christian nationalist effort,\u201d said Brian Kaylor, author of \u201cThe Bible According to Christian Nationalists: Exploiting Scripture for Political Power,\u201d referring to Trump\u2019s \u201cMake America Great Again\u201d movement.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf 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,\u201d added Kaylor, president and editor-in-chief of Word&Way, a progressive site covering faith and politics.<\/p>\n

NOW: President Trump took part in America Reads the Bible this evening, reading 2 Chronicles 7:11\u201322. pic.twitter.com\/SqxvhRtCBu<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Donald J Trump Posts TruthSocial (@TruthTrumpPost) April 22, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Historian Jemar Tisby, whose books have challenged what he says is enduring Christian complicity in racism, criticized the event on Facebook: \u201cYou cannot quote the Bible while justifying violence, war and exclusion.\u201d Pastor Doug Pagitt, executive director of the progressive group Vote Common Good, echoed the comment in a statement: \u201cIf you like reading the Bible, try living it.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Bunni Pounds, founder of Christians Engaged, organizer of the event, said that reading the Bible alone isn\u2019t enough. \u201cFaith without works is dead,\u201d she said, adding: \u201cWe need the word first to bring faith into our life.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

It also comes shortly after Trump\u2019s high-profile clash<\/a> with the US-born Pope Leo XIV over the Iran war.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\t(Left to right): Pope Leo XIV leads a vigil for peace inside St. Peter\u2019s Basilica at the Vatican, April 11, 2026 (AP Photo\/Gregorio Borgia); President Donald Trump posts an AI post depicting himself as Jesus, April 12, 2026 (Truth Social); Trump waves to reporters as he walks on the South Lawn upon his arrival at the White House, April 12, 2026, in Washington (AP Photo\/Jose Luis Magana)<\/p>\n

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 US Cabinet officials such as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth<\/a> 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\u2019s White House Faith Office.<\/p>\n

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\u2019t accept.<\/p>\n

Each speaker is taking a turn in the ongoing reading from the King James Version Easy Read translation into English of the 66 books of the Bible, as recognized by Protestants.<\/p>\n

The 66 books include 24 mainly Hebrew-language books that make up the Jewish Bible, as well as other books, preserved in Greek, from what Christians call the New Testament, though Catholics and Orthodox denominations recognize additional books not included in this reading.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tThe front cover of the \u2018God Bless the USA\u2019 Bible sold by US President Donald Trump, then the Republican nominee seeking to return to the White House, is seen in Washington on October 8, 2024. (AP Photo\/Ben Curtis)<\/p>\n

The event does include some Catholic representation, including the president of CatholicVote, which endorsed Trump in 2024.<\/p>\n

The event involves a comprehensive reading of the entire Bible, from the famous verses (\u201cLet my people go,\u201d \u201cThe Lord is my shepherd\u201d) 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\u2019 life, death and resurrection.<\/p>\n

Trump reads from 2 Chronicles<\/p>\n

Christians Engaged, the organizer, is a nonprofit whose stated mission includes \u201cdiscipling Americans on biblical worldview and their responsibilities to pray, vote and engage.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trump read from the seventh chapter of 2 Chronicles, set during King Solomon\u2019s dedication of the temple in ancient Jerusalem. In it, God promises forgiveness if a future generation rebels then repents: \u201cIf 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

The verse has long been quoted at many conservative Christian rallies and political events, such as the 2024 Republican National Convention.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tBalloons fall as then-former US President and 2024 Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, former First Lady Melania Trump and family stand on stage after he accepted his party\u2019s nomination on the last day of the 2024 Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on July 18, 2024. (Jim WATSON \/ AFP)<\/p>\n

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. \u201cIt\u2019s a powerful statement that he decided to read that passage,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The Bible-reading marathon comes just weeks before a May 17 event called a \u201cNational Jubilee of Prayer, Praise, and Thanksgiving,\u201d to be held on the National Mall. It\u2019s the climactic event of \u201cAmerica Prays,\u201d a project Trump announced last year in conjunction with America 250, calling for prayer for the country and to \u201crededicate ourselves to one nation under God.\u201d<\/p>\n

Several of the groups and individuals involved in America Prays are also participating in this week\u2019s Bible reading event.<\/p>\n

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.<\/p>\n


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