Vice President Mike Pence and Second Lady Karen Pence also attended the breakfast. Singer Cece Winans performed, with her husband Alvin Love III present.
In her own remarks, Speaker Pelosi prayed for the "poor" and "persecuted" around the world, including Tibetan Buddhists, "one to three million" Uyghurs incarcerated in camps in China, "writers" and "freethinkers" persecuted in Saudi Arabia, detained Patriarch Abune Antonios in Eritrea, victims of anti-Semitism, Yazidis and Rohingya Muslims, and other persecuted religious minorities.
She also prayed "that we treat everyone with dignity and respect" and that "the moral clarity of faith moves us to demand justice for those who are suffering."
Arthur Brooks, in his remarks, called attention to a "crisis of contempt and polarization that is tearing our societies apart."
"The problem isn't anger my friends," he said, but "contempt."
"Contempt kills marriages. Contempt kills relationships. Contempt kills love," he said. "Watch how we talk to each other."
While some are calling for "civility" and "tolerance," he said, that's a "low standard." Jesus, he said, "didn't say 'tolerate your enemies,'" but rather "love your enemies."
After Brooks spoke, President Trump remarked to laughter from the audience, "Arthur, I don't know if I agree with you. But I don't know if Arthur's going to like what I'm going to say."
Trump also mentioned victims of religious persecution in his remarks, saying the U.S. is standing up for "religious minorities around the world like nobody has ever done." He noted the case of "Mary," a 21 year-old detained in Iran for converting to Christianit,y and the arrests of church leaders by Venezuelan dictator Nicholas Maduro.
Trump also praised the cultural contributions of religious immigrants throughout American history.
"Before a single skyscraper rose up in New York City, thousands of poor American families donated all they could to build the magnificent St. Patrick's Cathedral," Trump said.
(Story continues below)
Subscribe to our daily newsletter
"We are creating a culture that protects freedom, and that includes religious freedom," Trump said. "We are upholding the sanctity of life, sanctity of life," he said, "and we are doing that like nobody has ever done it before from this position." He added that "every child is a sacred gift from God."
The president also appeared to ask for support from the audience at the non-partisan event.
"You better get out and vote on November 3rd, because you have a lot of people out there who aren't liking what we're doing," he said.
At the prayer breakfast, Trump also touted strong economic and employment numbers, as well as a recent Gallup poll reporting satisfaction by Americans-"and that's from Gallup, no friend of mine," he said.
"And the great American comeback, that's what it is," he said. "Our country has never done better than it is doing right now. Our economy is the strongest it has ever been."
"And for those of you who are interested in stocks, it looks like the stock market will be way up again today," he said.