U.S. Leaders Rededicate the Nation to God

By Carole Hornsby Haynes May 18, 2026

On Sunday, May 17, 2026, thousands of Americans from across the country gathered on the National Mall to prepare for the nation’s 250th birthday with Scripture, testimony, prayer, and rededication of our country as One Nation to God.

From early morning fellowship in front of the U.S. Capitol to an evening filled with music from the main stage on 12th Street, Rededicate 250 was rooted in giving thanks for God’s presence in our national life for 250 years and praying for his guidance for the next 250 years.

Three themes informed the event:

PiIlar I - A reflection on God’s providence throughout 250 years, honoring the faith that inspired America’s founders and has carried us forward in every generation since.
Pillar II - Personal testimonies of God’s healing in our lives and in our land.
Pillar III - A collective expression of gratitude for 250 years of freedom – and a unified moment of rededication asking for God’s blessing, guidance, and grace for the next 250.

With the powerful surge of patriotism and a spiritual rewakening in America, the leftists wasted no time denying the founding of the United States on Christian principles.One of these was the highly popular Substack author, Heather Cox Richardson, who spends the wee hours of every morning preparing her daily vitriol against Trump and MAGA. Harvard educated leftist Richardson wrote:

“The “Rededicate 250: A National Jubilee of Prayer, Praise & Thanksgiving” event is part of the Trump administration’s attempt to use the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence to rewrite America’s history, turning it from one that champions the Enlightenment values of natural rights, equality, and self-government to one that requires Americans to accept that some people are better than others and to defer to their leaders.”

She went on and on with supposed proof for her claims:

“But the United States of America was not founded as a Christian nation. The Founders were quite clear about that. In the 1796 Treaty of Tripoli, ratified unanimously by the Senate just a decade after the Constitution went into effect, U.S. leaders said ‘the government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian Religion’ and has ‘no character of enmity against the laws, religion or tranquility of’ Muslims.”

Citing another source she continued,

“Thomas Jefferson, the key author of the Declaration of Independence, and James Madison of Virginia, the key thinker behind the Constitution, both wrote explicitly about the importance of keeping the government separate from religion.”

In his speech at the rededication, House Speaker Mike Johnson refuted those fake claims. He traced our American history to early settlers and our Founding Fathers, asserting that God has guided this nation since its birth. He credited this divine providence and the colonists following the will of God as the reason why America has had unparalled freedom and has become the richest nation on earth. He cited the Declaration of Independence with its inalienable rights – life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness – as endowed by the Creator.

Johnson slammed the idea of separation of church and state, arguing that the Founders intended to protect the church from an all powerful state, rather than trying to keep faith and religion out of government or public life. The concern was about the government gaining control over the church. They saw how the encroachment of England in the church’sgovernance had resulted in a state controlled religion – the Church of England.

Evidencing the presence of God in daily political life, Speaker Johnsonnoted that the Bible verse from Psalm 127:1, "Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it,"is engraved in the marble above the Speaker’s rostrum, the central focal point of the chamber where Congress debates and votes.

Bible verses are inscribed in numerous other locations in Washington: the House of Representatives Prayer Room, Rotunda, the Library of Congress (Thomas Jefferson Building), the Supreme Court, the Washington Monument, the Thomas Jefferson Memorial, and the Martin Luther King Memorial. The Bible verse from Leviticus 25:10 is inscribed on the Liberty Bell.

Johnson warned the audience that America is in a spiritual battle against those who try to portray the country as an oppressive one. He cautioned that there will be national consequences if America turns it back on God and righteousness.

In closing, Johnson led the thousands gathered on the National Mall in a prayer of rededication, acknowledging God’s providence over the past 250 years and seeking His blessing for the next 250.

The Background of Our Constitution

The U.S. Constitution is fundamentally based on Judeo-Christian principles, Biblical teachings, and the belief that America’s survival is predicated on a moral and religious people. The Founders viewed the Constitution not as a strictly secular document, but as a system of governance rooted in Christian ideology. Evidence is found in the document being dated "in the year of our Lord" and the frequent declarations by the Founders that religion and morality are the indispensable pillars of American liberty.

The Founders used the Ten Commandments as the basis for a free and civilized society. The concept of checks and balances is found in Biblical references with John Adams citing scripture (such as Jeremiah 17:9) about the need to separate government powers to guard against flawed human nature.

The Founders believed that natural, inalienable rights were granted by God, not by the government.

The Bible was the most cited source of the American Founding era. Political science studies analyzed 15,000 writings with 3,154 direct Biblical citations, accounting for 34% of all quotations made by colonists. With Biblical references added in, the amount is greater than 50%. The Book of Deuteronomy was quoted more than any other book as a framebook for law, covenants, and societal stsructure.

That the United States Capitol was used regularly as a church bu ilding until well after Reconstruction is further evidence that separation of church and state was not the intention of the Founders. From Jefferson through Abraham Lincoln, many presidents attended church at the Capitol; it was common practice for Members of Congress to attend those services.

The institution of congressional chaplains, which dates back to the Continental Congress and continues through to 2026, also serves as proof that the Founders did not intend to separate religious faith from government institutions.

Conclusion

In a letter to the Massachusetts Milita in 1798, the second U.S. president, John Adams, expressed his concern that a self governing republic was possible only with virtuous citizens who possess strong moral character because the Constitution lacks the power to control – police – a society lacking those character traits. He wrote, "Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”

The violence and decadence that are plaguing our country today prove how right he was. Will we go the way of the Roman Empire?

Speaker Johnson cautioned that America will see its demise if we continue to turn away from God. Rededication 250 ws a powerful reawakening and a great start toward finding our way back.