America for Jesus, Christian prayer rally on Independence Mall
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Christian conservatives who blame “moral depravity” for everything from the recession to terrorism hope a rally Saturday in Philadelphia will spark a religious revival as Election Day nears.
The “America for Jesus 2012” prayer rally on Independence Mall is to feature religious broadcaster Pat Robertson and Family Research Council president Tony Perkins.
National coordinator John Blanchard says the two-day event that started Friday night is nonpartisan. It’s modeled after the 1980 “Washington for Jesus” rally, considered a pivotal show of organizational strength by the then-fledgling Christian right.
The rally will be held outside the building where the Declaration of Independence was signed. Pennsylvania is also where evangelist George Whitefield preached during the first Great Awakening, the 18th-century religious revival that spread through the American colonies.
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