[Editor's note: this piece was co-authored by Dr. Richard Rogers and Dr. Daniel Trippie]
As America approaches its 250th anniversary, many will focus on the central tenets of our nation’s history and founding: individual liberty, freedom from tyranny, a government by and for the people, among others, and rightly so. But these pale in comparison to the fundamental principle that underpins all others: the shared commitment to Biblical values without which our nation would not have existed.
The Rededicate 250 movement, a national day of prayer that will bring thousands of Americans to Washington DC on Sunday, is not simply about patriotism, nostalgia, or pomp and circumstance. It is about remembering that the American experiment did not begin with government but was sprung from a deep-seated conviction that our rights come from God alone, not from monarchs, courts, or political parties.
The understanding that liberty cannot survive without a commitment to virtue, faith, and biblical principles has been omnipresent in American culture for generations. The Founders understood this truth – George Washington warned that religion and morality were “indispensable supports” to political prosperity. During the Revolutionary War, the Continental Congress announced days of fasting and prayer, illustrating their understanding that all victory comes from God. This worldview shaped the birth of our republic and has shaped our nation’s understanding of justice, human dignity, and government for the past 250 years.
That history is being increasingly rewritten to suggest that America’s biblical foundations are either irrelevant, outdated, or even problematic. Modern culture has skewed away from religion and progressively incentivized our young people to turn away from God and view religion as a burden, not as the source of true fundamental freedom.
This moral erosion permeating the public sphere has already caused significant consequences. When truth and history become subjective, so do our basic rights. When our Judeo-Christian values are rejected, government inevitably grows to fill the void. As Americans turn away from the church, they often look to government to provide the support once provided by families, churches, and local communities.
This is precisely why efforts like Rededicate 250 are so important to reinforcing the fabric of our nation.
This Sunday’s event is a historic opportunity to pray, worship, celebrate the word of God that breathes in and through us, and remind the nation to whom we owe these two and a half centuries of history. This is not about the incorrect and misused moniker of “Christian nationalism” or imposing beliefs on the American public. It is about coming together as a nation to pray for another 250 years of American exceptionalism, raise up our nation before God, and reignite belief in a simple truth: the nation cannot remain free if we lose the foundation upon which freedom and morality depend.
At the America First Policy Institute, our work has consistently emphasized that American greatness is inseparable from the biblical concepts of human worth and accountability. Our Biblical Foundations initiative seeks to remind Americans of this truth and highlight that faith is not a threat to liberty, and in fact is among its greatest protectors.
Because America’s story is just beginning.
As we prepare to celebrate 250 years of American independence, we must do more than wave flags and watch fireworks. We must commit ourselves to rededicating our nation as a constitutional republic unlike any other, in prayer, rooted in biblical truth where liberty and faith are inseparable, unshakeable, and never compromised.
America does not need a reinvention of our founding ideals. America needs to renew them.
If the next 250 years are to be stronger than the last, we must once again become a people committed to preserving our identity as One Nation Under God.
That is the heart of Rededicate 250. That is the promise of America.
Dr. Richard Rogers serves AFPI as Vice Chair of American Values. Dr. Daniel Trippie serves as AFPI Director for Faith Engagement.
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