A federal judge on April 15 ruled that the National Day of Prayer (NDP) is unconstitutional -- and the Religious Right is up in arms.
"This is a concerted effort by a small but determined number of people who have tried to prohibit all references to the Creator in the public square, whether it be the Ten Commandments, the Pledge of Allegiance, or the simple act of corporate prayer -- this is unconscionable for a free society," Shirley Dobson, wife of radio counselor James Dobson and chair of the National Day of Prayer Task Force, asserted.
Jay Sekulow, chief counsel of TV preacher Pat Robertson's American Center for Law and Justice, which represented 31 members of Congress in a friend-of-the-court brief defending the National Day of Prayer, also chimed in.
"It is unfortunate that this court failed to understand that a day set aside for prayer for the country represents a time-honored tradition that embraces the First Amendment, not violates it," he moaned.
Give it a rest. The court made the right call. Here's why.
Government is supposed to be neutral on religion. It has no business telling people how, when or where to pray -- or even if they ought to pray. Government does lots of things well, but meddling in our private religious lives is not among them.
As a Christian minister, I can't understand why some clergy ever thought the National Day of Prayer was a good idea. It's my job to advise people on spiritual matters; the state has no business usurping that role. My fellow members of the clergy and I don't pass legislation or fill potholes, so maybe the government should just get off our turf.
Furthermore, the National Day of Prayer has always been soaked in the kind of offensive "God and country" rhetoric that many of us find nauseating. It was first proposed in the 1950s to show those godless commies a thing or two. In 1988, Congress codified it as the first Thursday in May. Congressionally mandated prayer in a country that separates church and state? I don't think so.
The NDP is not just an acknowledgment that Americans pray. It actively promotes religious practice. The government is, in fact, urging you to pray. That's simply not government's job.
In recent years, the NDP events have been taken over by aggressive Religious Right groups -- like Focus on the Family, founded by Shirley Dobson's husband -- which have used it in a highly offensive way and drenched it in fallacious, right-wing "Christian nation" pseudo-history. Worse, they've sponsored "Christians only" prayer events that exclude millions of Americans. (And by "Christians" they mean fundamentalists. Progressive Christians like me got nowhere near the microphone.)
In some communities, people got so fed up with the exclusive nature of NDP events that they started sponsoring rival get-togethers that were more inclusive. So we had dueling prayer showdowns! Nice way to bring everybody together, right?
Let's keep this simple: We separate religion and government in this country. That means the state has no business setting aside special days for prayer or other religious observances. It's just not the state's job.
Thomas Jefferson knew that. He refused to issue prayer proclamations during his presidency. James Madison issued few under pressure from Congress but later in his life wrote an essay saying he wished he hadn't. Andrew Jackson followed Jefferson's lead and refused to issue such proclamations entirely.
I'm not knocking prayer. I'm a minister, for heaven's sake! But I know enough about the subject to realize that for prayer to be meaningful, it has to come from the heart, be freely chosen, and not be an engine of state policy. Prayers pushed by the government aren't worth saying.
You want to pray on May 6? More power to you. I'll let you in on a little secret: You don't, and never did, need the government to give you a nudge.
Chris Rodda: National Day of Prayer 2010 Postmortem
"Man, if more Christians were like Barry Lynn (or like Sam Venable, for another example), those danged New Atheists would have very little to rail against, and we'd all kind of cool down and go take a nap, or something."
made in reference to this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1FlqJ9AV2A&feature=player_embedded
I must say, being an atheist myself, that I fully support Rev. Barry Lynn in this issue and think that it is VERY refreshing to see a Christian who supports the freedom for individuals to choose their own beliefs without government influence. I may disagree on other issues, but I find Lynn to be a respectable individual and feel sorry that he had to deal with the likes of Megyn Kelly in the Fox interview.
i am non religious. in my view, (this is my country too) every sunday there is a national day of prayer. nobody is trying to change that, nobody is trying to pry anybody away from their beliefs. just end a government acknowledgement of any religion and a special day for it.
i am not radical in my beliefs, but i get angry that in my community there is no respect by people of faith for someone that is not one of them. i don't want to be one of them with that attitude.
if they demand displays of the cross i say let them. as long as there is a pentagram and cross of david, etc. all right next to it. and maybe larger since they are the ones trying to control visuals here.
thank you for a very good article, because if you need to force people to pray i don't think they have the faith in the first place.
If that is the case..then why is Christmas..which is a Christian holiday celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ considered a national holiday..and noone seems to have any problems with that..why...oh yeah..because that means most everyone gets to take the day off from work.
Christmas is a holiday when the government says "Go home and spend time with your family." No references to baby Jesus are needed to make that event meaningful - whatever you feel like celebrating(be it religious or secular), you're free to do.
Christmas as it now stands in the USA is both a religious AND a secular holiday. My family celebrates Xmas as a purely secular holiday.
There is absolutely no secular aspect to prayer, so why is the secular government involved in promoting and recognizing a NDP in any way, shape or form?
Let the churches put an ecumenical NDP on their church year calenders, just like their All-Souls Day and other high-faluting Days that the rest of us pay no attention to.
Honestly, you'd think that something so obvious would be, well, obvious.
I rarely find common gorund with any clergy and I am pleasantly surprised by the fairness and objectivity of your post. you were quite polite about it but I would also add that the people that make the most noise about participating in this day of prayer are normally the most far right , nauseating, hypocritical and dishonest religious people out there. The fact that you feel every day is a day of prayer and you dont even agree with this government sponsored event show you are for real. Bravo.
I'm agnostic but I always felt the controversy over school prayer was BS and easily settled. Have one minute of silence at the start of every school day. Let the children know that this is their time to silently pray or reflect on their religious beliefs if they have any or for those that dont to simply sit quietly, relax and ponder the coming day. Real easy. Religious people can quietly pray, others that may not believe are not singled out or stigmatizd by not participating in Orchestrated prayer sessions.
"The President shall issue each year a proclamation designating the first Thursday in May as a National Day of Prayer on which the people of the United States may turn to God in prayer and meditation at churches, in groups, and as individuals."
So that they "may turn to God in prayer" as if the rest of the year they may NOT turn to God in prayer?
It is a politial gathering of influencial leaders from all over the world. They all get to "know Jesus-man to man". Funny, that is how money passes through the Fellowship, the Family or what ever this cult wants to call itself, man to man. Maybe that's why the Ensign payoff went through Coburn--"man to man".
Matthew 6:5-7 (New International Version)
5"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 6But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.
of course if any of these people every read the teaching of jesus they would know this
“When the Holy One Blessed be He created Adam, He took him and caused him to pass before all the trees of the Garden of Eden. He said to him, ‘See how beautiful and praiseworthy are my works; and all that I have created, I have created for your sake. Take heed that you do not damage and destroy my world.’” (Koheleth Rabbah 7:28)
A prayer breakfast by a group of churches or church members doesn't affect anyone but those who want to be involved. A prayer group in church doesn't either. A group around a flag pole, voluntarily there at whatever location, happens because those people freely want to gather. Those who want no part of it just walk on by. A prayer group in an Islamic setting bothers no one and is the right of that group. If a group of atheists want to meet to state their opinion of those fools praying or to affirm their disbelief, who does that bother.
Our country is diverse. But that diversity includes all. Allowing a National Day of prayer affirms that rather than causing problems for our nation.
One more thing: The prayer breakfasts held by the president or for the president is out of line. If he/she wants on his own at his expense to pray with others, go do it. But a government subsidized prayer breakfast that focuses on one religion would be wrong and is.
Or those pushed by schools, corporations, sports teams or any other secular organization.