What Jefferson and Madison would have thought about 'rededicating' the US to God

Thousands of Americans prayed on the National Mall during “Rededicate 250,” a day-long rally organized to come together in prayer and worship ahead of the nation’s 250th birthday. U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson led a prayer to rededicate the United States as one nation under God. The event, planned by Freedom 250, prompted criticism that it blurred church and state boundaries. Pew Research Center data shows most adults favor keeping religion separate from government policies. Figures allied with the Trump administration challenged the idea that the U.S. government should be separate from religion, citing interpretations of Jefferson and the Constitution. Jefferson and Madison are presented as central to American views on religious freedom, with their ideas now facing renewed controversy.

"Thousands of Americans prayed on the National Mall on May 17, 2026, during “ Rededicate 250”: a day-long rally to “come together in prayer and worship ahead of the nation's 250th birthday,” as organizers described it. U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, one of many Republican politicians and conservative Christian leaders to speak, led a prayer to “rededicate the United States of America as one nation under God.”"

"Planned by Freedom 250, a public-private partnership, the rally prompted criticism that it blurred the lines separating church and state. According to the Pew Research Center, 73% of adults agree that religion should be kept separate from government policies, and only 19% of Americans say the United States should stop enforcing that principle."

"But figures allied with the Trump administration have challenged the premise that the U.S. government should be - or was meant to be - separate from religion. In 2023, Johnson remarked that “The separation of church and state is a misnomer ... it comes from a phrase that was in a letter that Jefferson wrote. It's not in the Constitution. And what he was explaining is they did not want the government to encroach upon the church - not that they didn't want principles of faith to have influence on our public life.”"

"Two of the Founding Fathers shaped American views on these topics more than any other: Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. Yet their views have also become lightning rods for controversy as the “wall” between church and state comes under scrutiny. My 2024 book, “The Grand Collaboration,” seeks to answer several questions: What was Jefferson's and Madison's understanding of religious freedom? And why were they so deeply committed to that principle?"

Read at The Conversation