As the United States approaches its 250th anniversary, the National Religious Broadcasters (NRB) stands at the forefront of a national movement to reclaim the public square for biblical truth.
This vital mission was the focal point of the NRB Freedom 250 Celebration during the 2026 International Christian Media Convention in Nashville. The evening brought together a powerful coalition of partners, including Coral Ridge Ministries, Liberty University’s Standing for Freedom Center, PragerU, WallBuilders, FlashPoint, America Prays, and the White House Task Force 250 to honor the faith foundations of the American experiment.
Anchored by stirring keynote addresses from Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Babylon Bee CEO Seth Dillon, the event provided both historical reflection and a decisive battle plan for the future of free speech and religious liberty.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth at NRB 2026 Freedom 250 Celebration
Secretary Hegseth set the tone for the evening, reminding attendees that the American republic is the direct inheritor of the Western Christian tradition, inextricably bound to biblical theology.
“I stand before all of you simply as a sinner, imperfect yet forgiven, redeemed by Christ to speak of the enduring inheritance that has shaped our great republic,” Hegseth said. “The western Christian tradition, a vibrant and living legacy that has shaped our civilization for millennia and continues to offer us the narrow path in a modern, wide path world—a world beset by dangerous and godless foreign ideologies that sow doubt, sin, confusion, and death.”
Hegseth emphasized that the core tenets of American governance and individual liberty are drawn directly from Christian faith.
“The Declaration of Independence proclaims, ‘endowed by our creator with certain inalienable rights,’” Hegseth noted. “This is not the language of secularism. It is the language of faith—an acknowledgement to the world that our most fundamental liberties are gifts from God, not government.”
Calling on the Christian communicators in the room, Hegseth urged them to refuse to be silenced and to treat their faith as a necessary force in the public square.
“In an era where secularism is worshipped, we must be bold Christians, empowering citizens of faith,” Hegseth said. “We must communicate to them that their service is valued, and that faith is not a private hobby but a public good—a good that must be used to build our family, our community, and our nation. This is the spirit of our national motto—’Out of many, one,’ E pluribus unum—applied to the realm of faith. It demonstrates that while our specific denominations may differ, we are united by a common call to praise and serve God.”
Following Hegseth’s powerful historical mandate, Seth Dillon starkly outlined the modern battleground where these liberties are actively being fought for. He warned of the pervasive threat of “soft censorship”—when conservatives silence themselves out of fear of losing social media access or facing social penalties.
“You know, there are people who have been willing to lay down their lives for freedom, and we’re afraid to lose our Instagram,” Dillon said. “When the privately-owned platforms answer to no one and are acting on their own in their own interests, there’s no law that protects us from that. We have to use our own voices to assert our right to be here and say, ‘No, you’re not going to shut us all up. Suspend all of us. Bring it on.’ That has to be our attitude. That’s when things change.”
Babylon Bee CEO Seth Dillon at the NRB 2026 Freedom 250 Celebration
Dillon argued that free speech is the essential tool required to protect every other liberty:
“We have to stop caring what freedom might cost us,” he said. “If you aren’t willing to pay a price for freedom, you don’t value it. … It is sort of this prerequisite—the right that allows us to defend all our other rights. The fight for free speech is the one that must be continually fought and won because it makes every other fight possible.
Dillon also addressed the sobering realities of the cultural conflict, pushing back against the notion that the tragic death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk represented a failure of free speech.
“I heard some people saying things about how freedom had failed because, you know, Charlie showed up with a microphone and someone else showed up with a gun,” Dillon said. “The man who killed Charlie Kirk did not win. He amplified Charlie’s voice a thousand times over—a million times over. He revealed that Charlie was so effective, that the other side was losing so badly in the marketplace of ideas, that the only option they had was violence to try to take him out.”
As the nation looks toward its Semiquincentennial, the Freedom 250 Celebration made one thing abundantly clear: Christian communicators will not retreat.
“Use the freedom that you have,” Dillon said in conclusion. “Cherish it. Be willing to pay a price for it and speak boldly with conviction, and you will encourage others to do the same. Courage is like a good infection. It spreads.”
Watch Dillon’s full remarks: