The National Prayer Breakfast in February is one of the more annoying means by which American elites send their fellow citizens the none-too-subtle message that US society is – and will continue to be – dominated by Christians, and saturated with Christian privilege.
Held in Washington, DC, since 1953, it’s been hyped as ‘non-partisan’, ‘non-sectarian’ and ‘unifying’, even though its explicit centring of Jesus strikes a blow against pluralism. Furthermore, the Jesus envisioned by the National Prayer Breakfast’s founders and organisers – the Fellowship Foundation, also known as the International Foundation, and frequently referred to as simply the Family – isn’t some liberal, hippy figure.
This Jesus is a muscular, martial leader and obsessive anti-Communist who promotes capitalist paternalism, befriends dictators and despises labour unions – as thoroughly documented in journalist Jeff Sharlet’s 2009 book, ‘The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power’.
