NPR
19 May 2026
This week, thousands of Americans attended a day-long conservative prayer gathering. The event was billed as a rededication of the U.S. as “One Nation Under God” for our nation’s 250th birthday. The gathering was a private-public partnership backed by the White House. Non-Christian voices of faith were notably absent, apart from one Jewish rabbi. Almost all the speakers featured were Christians and most were Evangelicals. Some were Trump cabinet members and lawmakers. With the separation of church and state and the freedom of religion baked into the founding of our country, what does our nation’s relationship with faith look like today? Does the America of 2026 represent what our founding fathers intended? In this special broadcast of 1A in partnership with Religion News Service, we leave our studio and head to American University in Washington D.C. where we sit down with a panel of experts in front of a live audience. Find more of our programs online. Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing up for 1A+ at plus.npr.org/the1a. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy
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