AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
This year, there will be some key changes to the two most high-profile religious services that are traditionally part of the inauguration. One reason is because tomorrow, Inauguration Day, is also Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Jack Jenkins is a national correspondent for our partner organization, Religion News Service, and joins us now. Jack, welcome to the program.
JACK JENKINS: Thanks so much for having me.
RASCOE: So MLK Day is one reason there are some changes this year, but let's start with the others.
JENKINS: So traditionally, there are two big religious elements as part of the inaugural festivities. The first is at St. John's Church next to the White House. Last go round, one of Trump's supporters actually preached a sermon in support of the border wall during that service. But this year, the church has nixed a homily altogether, restricting the service to mostly songs and prayers, and I spoke with the rector. He told me that one of his goals was making sure the service was, quote, "nonpartisan."
Now, there's usually also a service the next day at the Washington National Cathedral, and that is happening, but Trump doesn't get to pick the preacher. In fact, it was announced before Election Day, and it will be local Episcopal Bishop Mariann Budde, who has been critical of Trump in the past. It's clear these churches - both Episcopalian - don't want their spaces used as a platform for Trump's message.
RASCOE: Who are some of the religious leaders who will be taking part in the inauguration events?
JENKINS: So there are several listed on the program, but some stick out as a sort of reward for two communities, the long-time supporters of Trump and his new allies. Two are familiar faces like Cardinal Timothy Dolan and Reverend Franklin Graham, both of whom prayed at Trump's first inauguration and will be praying again this time. They operate as kind of stand-ins for conservative evangelicals and Catholics who have long backed Trump.
But also on the program are two figures from Michigan, a state Trump had to fight hard to win. The first is Pastor Lorenzo Sewell, a Black evangelical from Detroit, who spoke at last year's Republican National Convention. And the other is Imam Husham Al-Husainy, who serves the Karbala Islamic Center in Dearborn, a city with a large Muslim and Arab American population that Trump won unexpectedly.
RASCOE: You've been speaking with some progressive religious groups about their plans on January 20. What are they telling you?
JENKINS: So religious progressives in general and Black Protestants in particular, who largely did not support Trump on Election Day, are using this as an opportunity to both celebrate King's legacy and push back against Trump. So while Trump is taking the oath of office in D.C., across town, the National Action Network, headed by Reverend Al Sharpton, will lead a march to a prominent historically Black church in D.C. Down in Atlanta, the Reverend William Barber, an activist and pastor who preached actually at Biden's inaugural prayer service will preach a sermon at Ebenezer Baptist Church, the pulpit that once belonged to King himself.
Afterwards, Barber will be part of a virtual gathering where faith leaders will listen in to Trump's address and then offer their own sort of immediate response. And then, at the end of the day in Tennessee, where King was assassinated, a group of faith leaders, including Barber, activists, AME Church dignitaries and the heads of denominations, such as the disciples of Christ, will offer a series of responses in sermon form as well.
RASCOE: You've also been speaking with some of Trump's evangelical allies. What are these evangelical leaders telling you?
JENKINS: There have been some misgivings about Trump among evangelicals since the campaign. They still backed him in huge numbers, but there were a few who expressed concern last year about what they saw as Trump backing away from a national abortion ban, for instance. What's more, what I'm hearing recently is that some feel they are a little overshadowed by the rising influence of tech moguls like Elon Musk, who appear to have more access to Trump than they usually do. Evangelicals are still definitely a part of Trump's coalition, mind you, but faith leaders are concerned the president is more likely to sit for rocket launches than in their pews to listen to their sermons.
RASCOE: That's Jack Jenkins of Religion News Service. Thank you so much.
JENKINS: Happy to be here. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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