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by Brittney Melton May 31, 2026 Good morning. This week, the Treasury Department prepared a $250 bill with President Trump’s face on it for the U.S.’ anniversary, the FBI arrested a former CIA officer after he allegedly took home more than $40 million worth of gold bars from his job, and NPR’s newsroom shrunk through buyouts and layoffs.  The boundaries between church and state by Daniel Burke, Senior Editor of Religion & Spirituality  According to surveys, more than 60% of Americans are Christian. But is the United States a “Christian” country?  If you ask members of the Trump administration, the answer is yes.  “The only thing that has truly served as an anchor of the United States of America is that we have been, and by the grace of God, we always will be, a Christian nation,” Vice President JD Vance said at a conservative rally in Arizona last December.  Vance went on to say that he does not believe that every American has to be Christian — but, he said, “Christianity is America’s creed.”  First Freedom Art Company As our religion team at NPR, along with our partners at Religion News Service, have reported , that kind of rhetoric is not unusual from members of the Trump administration. But it is fairly unusual in recent American history. Since the 1960s, presidents often have been careful to note that the United States is a pluralistic society, with adherents of dozens of faiths — and, increasingly, no organized religion at all. And the Constitution strictly prohibits  Trump, on the other hand, has said this: “We have to bring back our religion. We have to bring back Christianity in this country.”  It’s worth mentioning here that the First Amendment of the Constitution prohibits the government from “establishing” any particular religion.   But the Trump administration has been pushing the boundaries between church and state in unprecedented ways. The Justice Department established a task force to root out “anti-Christian bias” in federal agencies. It organized a prayer rally on the National Mall in which Cabinet members and Christian preachers prayed in front of a massive white cross to “rededicate America to God.” And it has invoked Scripture to justify policies as controversial as military invasions and ICE raids.  A small but growing number of Americans seem to agree with the special status the Trump administration has granted a particular kind of Christianity, according to a recent survey conducted by the Pew Research Center. The survey found that 17% of Americans believe Christianity should be declared the official religion of the United States. That’s an increase of four percentage points since Pew asked the same question just two years ago.  Declaring the U.S. to be a Christian Nation might be called a textbook example of Christian Nationalism, but in our Church and State series, we wanted to go a bit deeper than labeling the phenomenon.  We wanted to see it not only through a political lens, but also a cultural one: to reveal how it’s expressed through songs and paintings; schoolbooks and lesson plans; church services and faith-infused gatherings like the memorial for the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk.  And we wanted to talk to people who push back vigorously against this idea of the United States as a “Christian nation.”   Did I expect that an old painting of George Washington praying at Valley Forge would be the focal point of one of our stories? Honestly, I did not.  But that’s the joy of being an editor at NPR: working with journalists, like Neda Ulaby, who bring a fresh perspective to stories that can seem, at first, a bit old hat. I learned a lot from Neda’s story —  and from all of our stories —  about our country’s past, but also about this present moment. I hope you do as well.  Check out more great reads from the NPR network you may have missed: ➡️ An unusual coalition of people across the political spectrum has come together to oppose the construction of a border wall in Texas' Big Bend. The federal government has waived more than two dozen laws to expedite construction along nearly 175 miles of rural West Texas, an area that's one of the last untouched frontier landscapes. The administration plans to build 30-foot-tall steel fences, patrol roads, flood lighting and surveillance systems. Top elected local officials, private land owners, wildlife biologists and more argue that the wall is unnecessary. They worry about the potential harm to the environment, wildlife, Indigenous sites and the region's famously dark skies. The wall also threatens to disrupt the $56-million tourism industry in the Big Bend. ➡️ Experts warn that extreme misogyny is increasingly becoming a factor in far-right terrorism, which has historically focused on white nationalism, anti-Semitism and racism. Although this trend has risen, it often goes unnoticed. Alex DiBranco, co-founder of the Institute for Research on Male Supremacism, says it is important for there to be a broader public understanding of the connections between these misogynistic narratives and white nationalist violence. In the recent deadly attack on a Muslim house of worship in California, the two teenage suspects were found to have a 75-page manifesto that demonstrated a deep influence from far-right, neo-Nazi ideology. Notably absent from much of the mainstream media coverage was the fact that the manifesto expressed a strong hatred for women, essentially blaming them for everything wrong in the world. This type of misogyny was not prevalent in white supremacist circles 10 to 15 years ago, according to Heidi Beirich, co-founder of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism. ➡️ More therapists are experimenting with artificial intelligence tools to take notes, and some patients are worried about their privacy. Critics raise concerns that these tools could affect the trust between patients and their clinicians. Software companies claim that AI tools can save therapists hours on administrative tasks and recordkeeping each week. Despite the advancement, a national YouGov survey revealed that many Americans are hesitant to use AI for mental health care . Only about 11% reported being open to using it and just 8% expressed trust in the technology. Nearly half of the respondents expressed reluctance to adopt AI, citing concerns about the lack of human understanding, the potential for inaccurate advice, and privacy issues as significant factors. ➡️ President Trump is urging Congress to pause the federal gas tax, which could provide a little financial relief at the pump, but there is a trade-off: road conditions. Suspending the federal gas tax could save drivers up to 18.4 cents per gallon, but it would also deplete the already-troubled Highway Trust Fund, which is used for interstate road building and repairs. It is unclear whether the president's proposal will reach the floor for a vote, as gas tax holidays are controversial. Advocates argue that they provide quick relief for consumers, while critics say they are costly and potentially counterproductive.  ➡️ This month, NPR's Newsmakers podcast sat down with three influential voices who have been making headlines: Venezuelan politician and Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado, UFC boss Dana White and media mogul Byron Allen. Catch up with these stories and more here. Newsletter continues after sponsor message Are We Doomed?... Or…just feel doomed? Is the world ending, or does it sometimes just feel like it? Are We Doomed? investigates the greatest risks facing society, the planet, and our species. What’s real? What’s hype? And how do we actually make it out alive? Nuclear war. Asteroids. Autocracy. Rogue AI. Climate-driven pandemics. Angry hippopotamuses. Teeth clenched, curiosity engaged, quips ready, this “slightly narrative” podcast, from public radio journalist Ben Bradford and distributed by the NPR Network, explores everything from the existential and the unexpected to the overblown. Wild true stories, forgotten moments in history, surprising science, and a surprising amount of hope — listen to Are We Doomed?, available on all podcast platforms. Listen Now ➔ Pod Club Carl de Souza/AFP via Getty Images Thanks for tuning in last week to the episode of The Indicator from Planet Money which discussed how some artists are seeking human verification for their work in an age dominated by AI slop. The podcast features novelist Ned Hayes, who has developed a method for human artists to distinguish themselves in a landscape filled by artificial intelligence art Today, listen to an episode of Throughline about the evolution of prediction market sites. These days, people are able to bet on everything from the war in Iran to the Super Bowl winner. But where did these markets originate? The podcast will explore how historical wager practices on popes and presidents laid the groundwork for the emergence of a “terrorism market” in the early 2000s. Also, take a look at how those early prediction markets influenced the development of the industry being used currently. Listen to the episode, or read the transcript. How do you think prediction markets will evolve next? Listen to the episode, and let us know what makes you think. Your response could appear in next week's Sunday newsletter. Love podcasts? For handpicked episode recommendations every week, check out Pod Club — a newsletter written FOR podcast fans BY podcast fans. Subscribe here!  On this week’s episode of The Sunday Story from Up First, NPR’s TED Radio Hour host Manoush Zamarodi discusses the science behind why sitting is bad for your health — and how this five-minute habit could change your life. "Fair" Game NPR It's time for the Sunday Puzzle! For this week’s on-air challenge, every answer is a word, name or a familiar phrase in which the first syllable is pronounced "fair." This can be in any spelling, such as fare or fair. For example, if you are provided with the clue “Locale for an exhibition,” the answer would be “fairground.” Test your skills here. Check the page later to hear the answers, or catch them live on Weekend Edition at 8:41 a.m. ET.  This week's online challenge comes from Mike Reiss, a longtime writer and showrunner for The Simpsons. Name a classic song with a two-word title. Drop the first letter. Add an “R” after the new first letter. The result will be the names of two countries one after the other. What song is this? Submit your answer here, and you could win a chance to play next Sunday's on-air puzzle. Listen to your local NPR station. Visit NPR.org to hear live radio from HPR-1 News/Talk (edit station). This newsletter was edited by Suzanne Nuyen. Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They can  sign up here. Looking for more great content? Check out all of our newsletter offerings — including Music, Politics, Health and more!