A coalition of national organizations, faith leaders, civil rights advocates and elected officials today released a sign-on letter urging members of Congress not to participate in the 2026 National Prayer Breakfast (to be held on Feb. 5), warning that the event has become a platform for MAGA Christianity and sectarian political organizing.
The letter cites President Trump’s remarks at last year’s breakfast, where he promoted the idea that the United States must bring religion back much stronger, and framed governance as a religious mission. Signers argue that these remarks underscore how the breakfast now functions as a staging ground for religious identity being used to justify political power.
The coalition raised concerns about the broader ecosystem surrounding the breakfast that reinforces MAGA Christianity, including parallel Christian nationalist events such as the National Gathering for Prayer and Repentance, the event’s documented history of foreign influence operations, and its connections to exporting anti-LGBTQ campaigns abroad.
The coalition notes that congressional participation has been declining, with several senior Democratic stalwarts, such as House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, former House Speaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Chris Coons, opting not to attend in 2025.
Quotes from supporters of the letter:
- “For decades, members of Congress treated the National Prayer Breakfast as a routine appearance. That era is ending. Congressional attendance is dropping because lawmakers are recognizing this event is a platform for reprehensible ideologies, including Christian nationalism. When members of Congress choose not to participate, they make clear that public office does not exist to advance sectarian agendas and that government must maintain a clear separation between state and church. We are grateful to our secular and religious allies who have helped make that shift possible and who continue to stand up for our secular democracy.” — Annie Laurie Gaylor, FFRF Action Fund President
- “The National Prayer Breakfast is — and has always been — an unconstitutional influence-peddling operation led by white Christian nationalists who seek to replace our pluralistic democracy with a monolithic theocracy. No member of Congress who values diversity and believes in nonsectarian governance should have anything to do with this event or any other state-sanctioned attempt to portray prayer generally, and a singular version of Christianity specifically, as either a longstanding national tradition or a unifying force in America today. The National Prayer Breakfast is not — and has never been — about bringing Americans of all faiths and none together, but about advancing a white Christian nationalist agenda and further eroding the wall between religion and government. It is heartening to see members of Congress, people of conscience and Americans of all beliefs and none coming together to oppose the exclusionary, divisive and bigoted ideology promoted by the organizers of this operation.” — Nick Fish, President of American Atheists
- “Skip the National Prayer Breakfast. The breakfast claims to celebrate unity, but it’s always been a Christian nationalist Trojan Horse to promote a dangerous and intolerant agenda — one that aims to weaken our secular democracy and erode freedom of belief. Any public officials who attend the event give it the credibility the Christian nationalists want. I can think of several better places our representatives could show up at a time like this if they want to promote community and understanding — like supporting our immigrant neighbors. Humanists condemn the National Prayer Breakfast and strongly advise our representatives in Congress, on behalf of the 28 percent of their constituents who are nonreligious, to skip it.” — Fish Stark, Executive Director, American Humanist Association
- “Attending or supporting the National Prayer Breakfast legitimizes Christian nationalism and has been the incubator for actions that have legislatively and theologically demonized and terrorized marginalized communities, particularly the LGBTQIA+ community. That legitimization has emboldened a tyrannical Trump administration intent on trying to deport enough undocumented neighbors and target other people of color to make America white again.” — Rev. Father Jason Carson Wilson, Founding Executive Director, Bayard Rustin Liberation Initiative
- “We are witnessing the tragic deaths of innocent Americans and undocumented people right before our very eyes — by people who proclaim to be God-fearing and loving Christians. We cannot continue to sit by and watch the organizers and participants of the Prayer Breakfast get away with the elitism, racism and authoritarianism disguised as ‘traditional values.’ Traditional for whom? Clearly those who don’t fit into their narrow views. Our elected officials need to stay away from this farce of an event once and for all.” — Mandisa Thomas, Founder and President, Black Nonbelievers
- “The National Prayer Breakfast is needlessly divisive and anti-American. There is no reason for government officials to legitimize this practice by attending and giving their tacit approval to it. If the separation of church and state means anything, then lawmakers should not be in the business of favoring certain religions or making a show of their supposed piety at an official event.” — Azhar Majeed, Center for Inquiry
- “The National Prayer Breakfast has been used as a ruse by far right activists to trick centrist leaders into coalescing and supporting anti-LGBTQ+, anti-science, anti-lower and middle class and anti-reason causes with deceit under the veil of religion. These same organizers and their main supporters will turn a blind eye to claims of abuse within their organizations and to the troubles of the least of their neighbors to further grow their power. It’s time for all members of Congress to realize this and focus instead on the Founders’ enlightenment principles for this country where religion was explicitly left out of the public square to ensure all had the ability to believe or not believe as they please without repercussions for the betterment of our nation.” — Alexander Dewitt, Bay City (Mich.) Commission President, Commissioner-Sixth Ward.
- “It is tragic that the National Prayer Breakfast is a place of disunity, where a singular expression of faith is weaponized against so many citizens and residents of our nation. The core message of many faiths, and the belief of all people of goodwill, is that every person should be treated with the same dignity and respect. This event tramples on that fundamental value, and should be avoided by all public officials.” — Marianne Duddy-Burke, DignityUSA
- “I appreciate that we can have a government with leaders who come from a diverse range of faith and secular backgrounds, who work together for a better shared future, representative of the makeup of our pluralistic nation. If the National Prayer Breakfast truly reflected that spirit of inclusion, it could serve a meaningful purpose. Instead, it is a gathering that elevates religious extremism, carries a long history of anti-LGBTQ sentiment, and fails to honor the religious diversity that defines our nation. Far from a benign tradition, the event helps normalize Christian nationalist ideology, undermines the constitutional separation of church and state, and inflicts harm on marginalized communities. As a person of deep faith grounded in love of ALL our neighbors, I call on our leaders to reject participation in an event that corrodes democratic values and cloaks exclusion and discrimination in the language of religion.” — The Rev. Dr. Shannon Fleck, Executive Director, Faithful America
- “Members of Congress are absolutely free to pray privately or voluntarily, just like any citizen. The constitutional problem arises when prayer is institutionalized, official, or state-sponsored. The issue isn’t prayer itself — it’s government-sponsored prayer. A prayer breakfast often centers on Christian prayer, even if labeled ‘interfaith,’ it can marginalize nonreligious members, freethinkers, atheists, agnostics, members of minority faiths. Congress represents everyone, not just the religious.” — Margaret Downey, Freethought Society Founder and President
- “At a time when the President is willfully undermining our basic freedoms, elevating extremist movements and Christian nationalists, and threatening to erase the critical constitutional boundary between church and state, our elected members must be clear about where they stand. By participating in this year’s National Prayer Breakfast, members of Congress would allow the current administration to use the veneer of religiosity as cover for its multitude of attacks on religious freedom and faith communities. Congress should stand firm in its commitment to constitutional democracy and the freedoms it guarantees the American people.” — Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush, president and CEO of Interfaith Alliance
- “The National Prayer Breakfast, a combination of prayer service in the Capitol and a lobbyist/foreign official-fest in a huge hotel ballroom, manages to suppress church/state separation and benefit the Swamp all in one morning. Members of Congress have more important things to do. Lobbyists and foreign officials shouldn’t use a prayer breakfast to influence members of Congress. Let’s end it.” — Scott MacConomy, The Secular Coalition for America
- “Today’s young people are growing up in the most religiously diverse, and most nonreligious, generation in American history. When government officials elevate one faith tradition through events like the National Prayer Breakfast, it sends a clear message to millions of students that their identities and beliefs place them outside full civic belonging. The separation of religion and government exists precisely to prevent that harm.” — Kevin Bolling, Secular Student Alliance
- “As a progressive evangelical pastor in the Christian tradition and the Executive Director of Vote Common Good, I strongly endorse this letter urging Members of Congress to decline participation in the 2026 National Prayer Breakfast. Prayer is meant to be an act of humility, not a tool for legitimizing political power. In recent years, the National Prayer Breakfast has become a platform for MAGA Christianity — blurring the line between faith and state, elevating one sectarian identity over others, and framing partisan agendas as divinely sanctioned. Participation by elected officials is no longer a neutral act of devotion; it now functions as an endorsement of a coordinated Christian nationalist project.
As a Christian, I reject the idea that the gospel requires government power to advance its aims. Jesus did not seek dominance or privilege, and Christianity loses its moral authority when it relies on coercion rather than love, justice, and truth. As a democracy advocate, I am deeply concerned by the Prayer Breakfast’s documented ties to authoritarian influence and its role in promoting a narrow theological worldview through public institutions. Declining to attend is a principled stand for religious freedom, constitutional governance, and a democracy that honors the dignity of people of all faiths and none.” — Rev. Doug Pagitt, Executive Director of Vote Common Good