A federal judge ruled last Thursday that the National Day of Prayer is unconstitutional. U.S. District Court Judge Barbara Crabb issued a 66-page ruling that the day of prayer violates the First Amendment. Specifically, she wrote, it violates the so-called establishment clause, which bars the federal government from the “establishment of religion.”
Courts have traditionally interpreted that as the principle of separation of church and state. The Freedom from Religion Foundation filed litigation against the Bush administration in 2008, challenging the constitutionality of the National Day of Prayer.
Judge Crabb has stayed her ruling, however, pending completion of appeals. In her decision, the judge said that the ruling is not a judgment against the value of prayer. Rather, she wrote, “No one can doubt the important role that prayer plays in the spiritual life of a believer.” She added that “The only issue decided in this case is that the federal government may not endorse prayer in a statute.”
In 1775, as the Continental Congress began the task of forging a new nation, prayer was a welcomed thing. Colonists were asked to observe a day of quiet humiliation and prayer. At the constitutional convention, Benjamin Franklin spoke these words:
“I have lived, sir, a long time; and, the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth - that God governs in the affairs of men. And, if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid? … I therefore beg leave to move that henceforth, prayers imploring the assistance of heaven, and its blessing on our deliberations, be held in this assembly every morning before we proceed to business…”.
And each session, thereafter, was opened with prayer.
This is Carl Ramsey and that’s Another View of the News.
Let us know how God is blessing you! Please share your comments below.