{"id":2590126,"date":"2026-04-13T11:58:01","date_gmt":"2026-04-13T15:58:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/tennessee-lawmakers-walk-out-of-prayer-against-white-christian-nationalism\/"},"modified":"2026-04-13T12:01:35","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T16:01:35","slug":"tennessee-lawmakers-walk-out-of-prayer-against-white-christian-nationalism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/tennessee-lawmakers-walk-out-of-prayer-against-white-christian-nationalism\/","title":{"rendered":"Tennessee Lawmakers Walk Out of Prayer Against &#8216;White Christian Nationalism&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ftennessee-lawmakers-walk-out-of-prayer-against-white-christian-nationalism%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2590126&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>In the Tennessee House, Republicans walked out of an invocation delivered by Vanderbilt <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/uc-irvine-fires-doctor-who-already-had-covid-19-for-refusing-vaccine\/\" title=\"UC Irvine Fires Doctor Who Already Had COVID-19 for Refusing Vaccine\">ethics professor<\/a> Michael Eric Dyson after he denounced \u201cwhite Christian nationalism\u201d and President Trump during the prayer.<\/p>\n<p>The invitation came from Democratic Rep. Justin pearson, who has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/democrats-descend-into-twitter-war-with-amazon\/\" title=\"Democrats Descend into Twitter War With Amazon\">drawn national attention<\/a> for his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/7-of-the-most-cringeworthy-religious-mishaps-from-leading-leftists\/\" title=\"7 Of The Most Cringeworthy Religious Mishaps From Leading Leftists\">left-leaning views<\/a> on race and gun control. Dyson argued that Jesus is a model for defending the oppressed and <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >criticized white evangelical politics<\/a>, tying his message to issues of race, immigration, and gun culture, including references to the Covenant School shooting.<\/p>\n<p>Despite the walkouts, Dyson and Pearson defended the remarks, with Dyson saying his aim was to plant a seed and that the message reflected a gospel imperative to love the vulnerable. The episode drew notable media attention and sparked social media commentary.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>Republicans in the Tennessee House walked out of an invocation last month after the guest minister denounced &ldquo;white Christian nationalism&rdquo; and President Donald Trump during his prayer.<\/p>\n<p>The highly politicized invocation &mdash; delivered by Michael Eric Dyson, who serves as an ethics professor at Vanderbilt University &mdash; occurred because of an invite from Tennessee Democratic State Rep. Justin Pearson, a member of the Tennessee House who has garnered national headlines with his left-wing stances on race and gun control.<\/p>\n<p>Pearson introduced Dyson by saying that the minister believes &ldquo;Jesus is not a token that gets taken off the shelf to separate, bludgeon or disparage people, but an example by which we should be living our lives fighting for the oppressed, the marginalized, the immigrant, the disinherited, the widow and the disenfranchised,&rdquo; according to a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.christianpost.com\/news\/lawmakers-walk-out-of-invocation-denouncing-christian-nationalism.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">report<\/a> from The Christian Post.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">&#128680; Reverend Michael Eric Dyson delivers the invocation during the 51st Tennessee House floor session, attacking &ldquo;white evangelicals,&rdquo; Christian Nationalism, and President Trump&rsquo;s &ldquo;narcissism.&rdquo; Dyson&rsquo;s political and emotionally-charged prayer prompted some Republicans to walk out. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/fVGk1LqFw7\">pic.twitter.com\/fVGk1LqFw7<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DailyCaller\/status\/2037618631635284016?\">March 27, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"anyclipvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadAnyclip() { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst container=document.getElementById(\"anyclipvideo\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!container) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=\"https:\/\/player.anyclip.com\/anyclip-widget\/lre-widget\/prod\/v1\/src\/lre.js\"; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.setAttribute(\"pubname\", \"westernjournalcom\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.setAttribute(\"widgetname\", \"001w000001jULVcAAO_M12924\");  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ append inside the container so player shows in correct spot \t\t\t\t\t\tcontainer.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadAnyclip(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #anyclipvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#anyclipvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>The lawmaker even said that Jesus&rsquo; ministry was &ldquo;all inherently a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/arming-the-iranian-people-against-the-mullahs-is-the-dumbest-idea-ever\/\" title=\"Arming The Iranian People Is The Dumbest Idea Ever\">political act &#038;mdash<\/a>; so political that they had to lynch our Savior.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Dyson then started his prayer, during which he used the anniversary of the Covenant School shooting to rebuke supporters of the Second Amendment.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We are in the shadow of the third anniversary of the Covenant School shooting, and yet we still worship guns. In our country, we claim to love freedom, but we resent those who seek to practice it beyond mere creeds,&rdquo; Dyson said.<\/p>\n<p>He then asked God to &ldquo;spare us from the hypocrisy of a breed of white evangelical piety that emphasized the adjective &lsquo;white&rsquo; more than the noun &lsquo;evangelical.&rsquo;&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The hatred of blackness circulates in the lungs of the beast of white Christian nationalism, and we can feel the fire flaming from the nostrils of the dragon of black animosity,&rdquo; he added.<\/p>\n<p>Dyson then indirectly referenced Trump, asserting that &ldquo;too many of our white Evangelical brothers and sisters toss in with a petty, prevaricating pariah who is a callus on the heel of American government and a wound on the body of American democracy.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Despite causing many Republicans to walk out of the prayer, Dyson and Pearson later defended the remarks.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;My job is to plant the seed,&rdquo; Dyson told The Tennessee Holler in an interview. &ldquo;I hope that they heard me. I hope that they understood that it&rsquo;s rooted in a gospel imperative to love the vulnerable and the oppressed.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">WATCH: &ldquo;My job is to plant the seed. I hope they heard me.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>We talked to TN House Chaplain of the Day <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MichaelEDyson?\">@MichaelEDyson<\/a> and Rep. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Justinjpearson?\">@Justinjpearson<\/a>, who invited him, after his &#128293; message today &mdash; a truth bomb that sent some Republicans running for the exits: <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/EGqPMX4cXF\">https:\/\/t.co\/EGqPMX4cXF<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/uDo3OyJrnr\">pic.twitter.com\/uDo3OyJrnr<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; The Tennessee Holler (@TheTNHoller) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TheTNHoller\/status\/2037307309018231270?\">March 26, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Dyson also condemned &ldquo;the hypocritical embrace of American ideals on the one hand, and the denunciation of them on the other.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;You can&rsquo;t say God says, &lsquo;Love the stranger,&rsquo; and you treat people who are immigrants with total disdain,&rdquo; he asserted.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Republicans in the Tennessee House walked out of a recent invocation after guest minister Michael Eric Dyson denounced \u201cwhite Christian nationalism\u201d and President Trump during the prayer. Dyson spoke at the invitation of Democratic Rep. Justin Pearson, who has drawn national attention for his liberal positions on race and gun control. Pearson introduced Dyson, describing his view that Jesus should inspire actions to defend the oppressed, the marginalized, immigrants, and the disenfranchised.<\/p>\n<p>Dyson\u2019s remarks attacked white evangelicals, Christian nationalism, and what he called a hollow love of freedom when it\u2019s applied only within creeds. He used the Covenant School shooting anniversary to rebuke gun supporters and urged God to spare the country from the hypocrisy of a white evangelical piety that prioritizes race over faith. He also linked white Christian nationalism to anti-Black sentiment and, in a broader critique, suggested some white Evangelical peers align with a leader who harms American democracy. While the prayer prompted many Republicans to leave, Dyson and Pearson stood by the remarks, with Dyson saying his aim was to plant the seed of a gospel imperative to love the vulnerable and oppressed. He argued that one cannot preach love for strangers while showing disdain for immigrants, criticizing the hypocrisy he sees in American ideals<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2590127,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Michael-Featured-Image-912.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[3673,11817,6651,9844],"class_list":["post-2590126","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-lawmakers","tag-prayer","tag-tennessee","tag-walkout"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Michael-Featured-Image-912.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2590126","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2590126"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2590126\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2590130,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2590126\/revisions\/2590130"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2590127"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2590126"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2590126"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2590126"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}