In the wake of the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol, he called for Americans to “confront and defeat political extremism, white supremacy and domestic terrorism,” and argued that religion can help America unite as “one nation in a common purpose: to respect one another, to care for one another, [and] to leave no one behind.”
The president’s address provided an insight into how Biden plans to navigate the complex relationship between religion and politics in the post-Trump era.
But it also underlines the importance of the traditional presidential address at the National Prayer Breakfast – an annual high-profile gathering of faith leaders and politicians held in Washington D.C. on the first Thursday in February since 1953.