Thousands of Christians Rallied in D.C. to Pray for a Nation They Helped Divide

Thousands of Christians gathered at the National Mall this weekend for a prayer march.

The good news: Some people wore masks.

The bad news: Whatever the heck is happening in this tweet.

When we talk about evangelical fetishizing of Israel on this site, the above tweet is a spot-on example. Evangelist Franklin Graham instructed people to pray in different places around the city, but the appropriation of a Jewish form of worship here isn’t a coincidence.

In an article about the event itself, Michelle Boorstein and Sarah Pulliam Bailey wrote for the Washington Post:

Two groups — one organized by New Jersey-based pastor and popular author Jonathan Cahn, the other led by Evangelist Franklin Graham — emphasized slightly different objectives but came with a shared focus central to many millions of Christian conservatives: repairing a country they say is in the midst of a spiritual crisis.

…

They had come on the day President Trump announced his nomination of Amy Coney Barrett, a devout conservative, to the Supreme Court. While there were many on the mall wearing pro-Trump hats or shirts, several people interviewed pulled back from explicit partisanship, instead focusing on division and change in a country they say has become intolerant of the views of conservatives.

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A few blocks away, [Franklin] Graham launched thousands on a prayer walk with seven stops between the Lincoln Memorial and the U.S. Capitol. People prayed at the World War II Memorial for the military and police, at the Washington Monument for solutions to the pandemic and the end of abortion, and at the National Museum of African American History and Culture for respect and reconciliation between the races — among other stops.

It’s hard to believe that conservatives feel like victims when the Supreme Court is about to be stacked entirely in their favor. For most liberals — at least the ones I know — it’s not being conservative that’s the problem. It’s the racism, Christian Nationalism, cruelty toward immigrants, and rejection of reality that’s become woven into modern conservatism that’s the problem. But rather than doing a little self-reflection and asking themselves why people find their views so distasteful, they are instead doubling down and closing themselves off to basic compassion and decency.