President Donald Trump spoke at a Religious Liberty Commission event held at the Museum of the Bible on Monday morning to announce the launch of "America Prays," a program to encourage Americans to pray regularly for the nation in anticipation of the United States' 250th anniversary.
After Trump delivered some typically meandering and self-aggrandizing remarks, Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner took to the podium to officially announce the prayer effort.
Turner was a predictable choice given that, just this past weekend, he used his government position to sponsor a Christian nationalist prayer rally on the National Mall led by dominionist MAGA activist Sean Feucht.
Just as predictably, Turner use the opportunity to spread Christian nationalist mythology.
"What if one million people prayed for our country every single week between now and next July 4th," Turner asked. "More specifically, what if believers all across this great nation got together with 10 people—friends, family members, colleagues, work associates—10 people each week to pray for our country and for our fellow citizens?"
"Think about the miracles that would take place over the next year," Turner said. "Think about the transformation that you and I could witness in communities all across the land. Sons returning to their fathers, daughters returning to their mothers, families coming back together, health being restored, financial needs being met, mountains being moved. Think about it."
Turner then cited as precedent the call to prayer issued by Benjamin Franklin during the Constitutional Convention, which has long been a favorite myth promulgated by Christian nationalists.
"We're a nation that has always believed in the power of prayer," Turner declared. "During the Constitutional Convention, when our Founding Fathers—and many of you know this— were discussing the formation of our country, Benjamin Franklin stopped the debate and asked the delegates to pray for guidance from the Lord God Almighty. He famously said, 'If a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without his aid?' How many are grateful that God put that on the heart of Benjamin Franklin on that day?"
What Turner, just like every other Christian nationalist who cites Franklin's speech, failed to mention is that the delegates to the Constitutional Convention rejected his call for prayer, as Right Wing Watch has been explaining for years:
The delegates to the Constitutional Convention chose not to heed Franklin’s call to prayer and adjourned without taking any action on his suggestion. As historian Richard Beeman recounts in his book, "Plain, Honest Men: The Making of the American Constitution": "At the conclusion of the day’s session in which the delegates rejected his suggestion, [Franklin] scrawled a note on the bottom of the speech he had written expressing his incredulity: 'The convention, except three or four persons, thought prayer unnecessary!'"
