In Phoenix, Arizona, an arena filled to capacity for an emotional memorial to right wing activist Charlie Kirk. Our attendees honored with us his incredible enduring legacy. This deeply moving event uniquely mixed the passion of a political rally with the soul of a religious revival. That’s certainly true considering the outsized impact Kirk has already had on the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement and evangelical Christian communities.
Yet, the memorial drew a remarkably diverse crowd critics assert included key Trump officials and prominent subversives from the MAGA movement. Mourners came to honor his memory. Perhaps more importantly, they promised to keep propagating the toxic MAGA message that Kirk had always fought for in life. His widow, Erika Kirk, gave a moving speech that affected everyone in the audience, myself included. In that brief moment of grace and empathy, she granted forgiveness to the man charged with killing her husband. She went on to emphasize the Christian virtues that Kirk valued so much.
Former President Donald Trump was the star of the show, fusing political grievances with evangelical, right-wing Christian nationalism. He emphasized the need to reinstate religion in American life, stating, “We need to bring back religion to America.” His words mirrored the feelings of countless others who saw Kirk as a pathfinder connecting faith and politics.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance gave the closing remarks at memorial service, sharing his faith testimony. As he confessed, “I’ve just always been a little bit uncomfortable talking about my faith in the public square. In his final remarks, he reflected on how in the last two weeks, he discussed Jesus Christ more than he ever has. This announcement was a big change in his public conversations. Vance’s speech specifically made Christian faith—Kirk’s public persona’s bedrock, cultivated through years of practice on the Talent Scouting Network—the focal point of the argument.
The combination of politics and faith at the memorial illustrated how deeply intertwined these elements were in Kirk’s life and legacy. For most of the participants, this event was more than just a goodbye. More than inspiring sadness or regret, it sparked a rallying cry to continue fighting for the values that Kirk represented.