The Freedom From Religion Foundation is rebuking House Speaker Mike Johnson for using his government office to promote Christian extremism at a recent get-together in the nation’s capital.

The second annual 2026 National Gathering for Prayer and Repentance (co-founded by Johnson and organized by the Family Research Council), held Feb. 4 at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C., featured two dozen members of Congress alongside far-right pastors and religious activists who framed American politics as a form of “spiritual warfare.” Speakers urged Christians to “bind demonic forces,” “tie the hands of Satan” and reclaim control over American culture, government and law — rhetoric that openly rejects democratic pluralism and constitutional governance.

Johnson addressed the event and led prayers, identifying himself as Speaker of the House and repeatedly asserting that the United States derives its freedom, success and legitimacy from Christianity and a “biblical foundation.” He framed the nation’s upcoming 250th anniversary as an opportunity to restore Christian dominance in public life and prayed for divine guidance so Congress would govern “in a way that is pleasing” to God.

FFRF Legal Counsel Chris Line has warned Johnson in a letter that his conduct at the gathering crossed clear constitutional boundaries.

“When the Speaker of the House substitutes theology for constitutional authority, he crosses the critical line between private belief and public office,” he writes. “That line exists to protect the religious liberty of all Americans, including the many who do not share your faith.”

Unlike the longstanding National Prayer Breakfast, which falsely bills itself as ecumenical and nonpartisan, the National Gathering for Prayer and Repentance is explicitly and unabashedly ideological. Speakers repeatedly characterized abortion rights, LGBTQ+ equality, environmental protections and secular governance as “sins” and “demonic attacks” on the nation. The repentance urged by speakers focused less on personal morality than on the supposed failure of Christians to exert power over those who do not share their beliefs.

Among the featured speakers were leaders of the New Apostolic Reformation, a radical Christian nationalist movement teaching that believers have divine authority to “take dominion” over governments and institutions. Pastor Ché Ahn, who spoke at the “Stop the Steal” rally preceding the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, lamented that Christians had failed to “occupy” positions of power. Other speakers preached that America is under siege by pagan gods and demonic entities that must be expelled from the halls of government.

Several members of Congress directly embraced this rhetoric. Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., prayed to “bind the demonic forces” seemingly possessing the United States of America. Rep. María Elvira Salazar, R-Fla., declared that “each person” in the country would serve and praise Jesus Christ, explicitly framing America as a Christian nation by divine design. Rep. Diana Harshbarger, R-Tenn., explicitly asked God to cleanse the government of nonbelievers: “And God, I pray that you would put godly people in places of authority and take those people out of those places that are not godly, Lord.”

Johnson offered no criticism of these extremist statements. Instead, he praised the prayers of lawmakers as evidence that there is still “salt and light” in Washington and prayed for God to grant him wisdom to carry out divine will through legislation.

FFRF has emphasized to Johnson in its letter that the United States was not founded on the bible, Christianity or religion in general. It was established on Enlightenment principles of individual liberty, popular sovereignty and a deliberate rejection of religious governance. The Constitution is a godless document by design. The First Amendment expressly forbids the government from endorsing, advancing or favoring religion precisely because the Founders understood the dangers of sectarian power fused with the state.

“At a moment when Christian nationalism is increasingly used to justify discrimination and the erosion of civil rights, your words matter. They legitimize the false narrative that the government derives its authority from God rather than from the people, and that American law should serve religious ends rather than constitutional ones,” Line writes. “The Constitution does not ask government officials to be faithful to God. It asks them to be faithful to the law.”

FFRF is calling on Johnson to respect the constitutional limits of his office and to cease promoting sectarian ideology under the mantle of governmental authority. If he cannot uphold the law without regard to whether it comports with his personal religious beliefs, then FFRF suggests that he must resign immediately.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a U.S.-based nonprofit dedicated to defending the constitutional principle of separation between state and church and educating the public on matters relating to nontheism. With about 42,000 members, FFRF is the largest association of freethinkers (atheists, agnostics and humanists) in North America. For more information, visit ffrf.org.

The post FFRF condemns Speaker Mike Johnson’s role in Christian nationalist gathering appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.