Trump inauguration packed with religious leaders

Donald Trump has tapped six faith leaders to give readings or invocations at his inauguration on Jan. 20, a departure from the traditional one or two leaders, which has been standard in every inauguration since 1989.

The panel sports a range of religious backgrounds, starting with Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the archbishop of New York and the highest-ranking Catholic in the United States. Dolan has not hidden his unfavorable opinion of the president-elect’s immigration policies, but he expressed his thanks at being given an opportunity to “ask Almighty God to inspire and guide our new president,” according to the Washington Post.

Reverend Samuel Rodriguez has also repeatedly expressed his opposition to the president-elect’s rhetoric regarding immigration. His position at the top of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference makes him a powerful voice and representative for Hispanic Americans, a demographic group with whom the president-elect is quite unpopular.

Third is Rabbi Marvin Hier. The Washington Post reported that he will be the first rabbi to speak at a presidential inauguration since President Reagan’s re-election in 1985.

Bishop Wayne T. Jackson of Detroit, who heads the Great Faith Ministries International Church in Detroit, played host to Trump in September. The Detroit News reported that Jackson received significant backlash from the African-American community before interviewing Trump at his church, but proceeded with the sit-down, which he then used to ask Trump if he was a racist.

Rev. Franklin Graham, the son of legendary revivalist Billy Graham and leader of the Samaritan’s Purse charity, will speak as well, a reprisal of his performance at President George W. Bush’s first inauguration.

While Graham might be the biggest name, the inclusion of pastor Paula White, Florida televangelist and long-time friend of the president-elect, has caused the most waves. She and several other famous televangelists were the subjects of a 2007 congressional investigation that, despite lasting three years, was concluded with no charges filed and no meaningful conclusions found.

In addition to the allegations of improper use of ministry funds which could have been symptomatic of large-scale fraud, White has been accused of heresy for her belief in the prosperity gospel. The prosperity gospel is the idea that true believers will be blessed both spiritually and materially, and most importantly, that God desires believers to be wealthy.

Proponents of this idea implore their followers to donate to their ministries with the promise that God will reward their giving with more wealth, often using the metaphor that small seeds will lead to a large harvest. President-elect Trump was popular with the prosperity gospel cohort, which includes figures such as Kenneth and Gloria Copeland and Mike Murdoch, all of whom have been the subject of fraud allegations.

The inclusion of White in the proceedings, when taken with her past efforts on his campaign, which included initiating and facilitating a meeting between the candidate and hundreds of evangelical leaders, could spell the beginning of a previously unseen legitimacy for the prosperity gospel in both policy and American religious life.