ABC News(WASHINGTON) — Partaking in a tradition that dates back over half a century to the tenure of Dwight Eisenhower, President Donald Trump will attend the National Prayer Breakfast Thursday.
The event, which brings together politicians with members of the business and religious community, began in 1953 and is organized by The Fellowship Foundation and hosted by a committee of members of Congress.
Over 3,000 people attend the breakfast annually, according to The Fellowship Foundation, where they hear from a variety of speakers including the current president. Past deliverers of the keynote address at the function include former United Kingdom Prime Minister Tony Blair, King Abdullah II of Jordan and U2 frontman Bono. King Abdullah is expected to attend Thursday’s breakfast as well.
In 2013, a then-relatively unknown Dr. Ben Carson — currently awaiting Senate confirmation to be secretary of housing and urban development — delivered a scathing critique of President Barack Obama’s attempts at health care reform at the gathering. The appearance vaulted Carson to celebrity in conservative circles, eventually leading to his unsuccessful run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016.
The breakfast is not without controversy however, with some critics decrying the event’s religious theme and fusion of church and state.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation, an organization promoting the secularity of government, released a statement in opposition to the function Wednesday, writing, “Instead of serving ‘Americans of all backgrounds,’ [the breakfast] further enshrines the place of worship and religion in our political setup, acting contrary to our godless Constitution.”
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