Paula White was one of the guests at a conference on religious freedom and protection against discrimination on grounds of faith, organised in the Italian Senate (Rome) on 27 October.

Hosted by Senator Lucio Malan, who has previously promoted other dialogues with religious minorities, the event featured a well-known figure in the United States, Pastor Paula White.

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White is a highly recognisable figure associated with so-called ‘prosperity gospel theology’ and an extreme form of neo-Pentecostalism that is considered to lie on the fringes of what defines evangelical churches.

But she is perhaps even better known for being the Senior Advisor of the White House Faith Office, and the main spiritual adviser to US President Donald Trump.

The preacher has defended the decisions of Trump’s administration to the extent of comparing his role to that of Jesus Christ, repeatedly asserting that Trump’s presidency is the result of divine providence.

Italian Evangelical Alliance declines invitation

Among the organisations invited to the event in the Italian Senate – in which Jennifer Korn, Director of the White House Office of Faith, also spoke – was the Italian Evangelical Alliance (AEI).

But the Italian evangelical entity announced that it would not be attending. “We thank Senator Lucio Malan for the institutional attention shown to the Alliance. However, after careful consideration, we have decided not to attend”, they said.

For the AEI, religious freedom and the protection of minorities are matters of great importance, as demonstrated by its participation in previous forums on this subject.

However, “precisely for this reason, we believe these issues must be addressed whilst rigorously preserving the autonomy of faith communities and maintaining the necessary distinction between evangelical witness, political power and partisan interests”, says the statement.

“Deep theological reservations” about Paula White

Moreover, the statement also expressly mentions that the Italian evangelical entity has “deep theological reservations regarding the person and public ministry of Paula White and the model of the relationship between faith and political power that she embodies”.

The decision not to accept the invitation “does not stem from prejudice against US institutions, nor from a political stance of the opposite persuasion”, the Evangelical Alliance says. “It stems from our responsibility not to contribute, even indirectly, to legitimising as representative of evangelicalism a vision with which we do not identify”.

The evangelical representative entity wishes to make an “act of transparency towards the institutions, public opinion and our members” by explaining the reasons for its non-participation in the event. “It is also an invitation to everyone to reflect on the relationship between faith, religious representation and political power”, they conclude.