US President Donald Trump and top cabinet officials addressed thousands of Americans at a mass prayer rally in Washington on Sunday – an event critics saw as an overt display of Christian nationalism undermining the separation of church and state.

The gathering was organised by the White House as part of a programme of celebrations for America’s 250th anniversary and billed as an opportunity to revive the idea of a country founded on Christian principles.

During the outdoor event on the National Mall, attendees sang and swayed to Christian music and listened to addresses by pastors and government officials, including Vice-President J.D. Vance and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, who both spoke via video.

In a brief video appearance, Trump read a passage from the Bible in which God says he will “heal their land” if people “seek my face and turn from their wicked ways”.

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson offered a prayer over what he described as “sinister ideologies” in the United States.

“We’ve witnessed attacks on our history, on our heroes and the cherished moral and spiritual identity of this great nation,” Johnson said. “We turn to you once again to save us from these afflictions.”