Feature Story - June 2009
White House Scale-back of Prayer Day Draws Mixed Response
It is in that spirit of unity and reflection that we once again designate the first Thursday in May as the National Day of Prayer. Let us remember those who came before us, and let us each give thanks for the courage and compassion shown by so many in this country and around the world.
The Obama administration did not schedule any public events for last month's observance of the National Day of Prayer, opting instead to issue a proclamation as some past administrations had done.
President Obama's proclamation, in part, stated, "Throughout our nation's history, Americans have come together in moments of great challenge and uncertainty to humble themselves in prayer. In 1775, as the Continental Congress began the task of forging a new nation, colonists were asked to observe a day of quiet humiliation and prayer. Almost a century later, as the flames of the Civil War burned from north to south, President Lincoln and the Congress once again asked the American people to pray, as the fate of their nation hung in the balance.
I call upon Americans to pray in thanksgiving for our freedoms and blessings, and to ask God for continued guidance, grace and protection for this land that we love," the President stated.
This year's theme of the 58th annual observance of the National Day of Prayer was "Prayer...America's Hope," based on the verse from Psalm 33:22, which states, "May your unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord, even as we put our hope in you."
During former President Bush''s eight years in office, prominent Evangelicals gathered for an interfaith service on the National Day of Prayer in the East Room of the White House.
This year, the National Day of Prayer Task Force opted to hold its annual event on Capitol Hill.
Task Force Chairman Shirley Dobson was dismayed that no White House event was held this year.
"We are disappointed in the lack of participation by the Obama administration. At this time in our country''s history, we would hope our president would recognize more fully the importance of prayer," Dobson said.
In response, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, said, "I think the President understands, in his own life, and in his family's life, the role that prayer plays. And I would denote that administrations prior to the past one did proclamations. That's the way the President will publicly observe National Prayer Day. But, as I said, privately, he'll pray as he does every day."
The lack of a public White House event for the National Day of Prayer drew a sharply divided reaction.
Family Research Council President Tony Perkins asked, "Should we be surprised? Concerned? No and yes. While there is a long history of presidents praying and calling the nation to prayer (dating all the way back to George Washington) a de-emphasis on prayer in this administration should not come as a surprise. What can we expect of an administration whose policies cheapen human life, increase dependence upon government and threaten religious freedoms? But just because there is no official White House event, it should't lessen the National Day of Prayer's significance. To the contrary! First, this should help us realize we need to pray harder because leaders who do not seek God's leading are hampered in their ability to lead others. Secondly, we must recognize that God's call for people to humble themselves and pray (2 Chronicles 7:14) is not a call aimed at political leaders and those with great power and influence, but rather, it's a call to the Church," Perkins said.
Likewise, Concerned Women for America President Wendy Wright told The Washington Times, "For those of us who have our doubts about President Obama's faith, no, we did not expect him to have the service. But as president, he should put his own lack of faith aside and live up to the office."
In reference to a remark that the President made at a recent news conference in Turkey, in which he said, "Americans do not consider ourselves a Christian nation," Wright added, "That was projecting his own beliefs, but not reflecting what the majority of Americans feel. It''s almost like Obama is trying to remake America into his own image. This is not a rejection of Shirley Dobson; it's a rejection of the concept that America is a spiritual nation, and its foundation is Judeo-Christian."
Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, defended government participation in the National Day of Prayer.
"The National Day of Prayer is nothing more or less than our government accommodating itself to the fact that we are a very religious people in all of our pluralism and diversity. In a country where 61 percent of the people say that religion is very important in their lives, and where four out of five Americans say that they pray on at least a fairly regular basis, it is utterly uncontroversial for the government to designate a National Day of Prayer, recognizing the abundantly religious nature of American society, and to encourage Americans to pray according to the dictates of their own consciences," Land said.
However, J. Brent Walker, executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, said Congress' official designation and the President's proclamation of a National Day of Prayer, is "misguided and unnecessary."
Walker continued, "It is not the government's job to tell the American people what, where or when to pray -- or even, if they should pray. There is nothing wrong with the American people getting together to pray on a designated day -- even public officials. The problem with the National Day of Prayer is that it is an official act of the government urging citizens to engage in a religious exercise. A day of prayer is more appropriately called for by pastors, rabbis and imams among us––not civil magistrates, Congress or even an American president," Walker said.
The Rev. Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, said that he's pleased that the only official action by the President was the issuance of a proclamation denoting the National Day of Prayer.
"The President is required by federal law to declare a National Day of Prayer, but there is no requirement that a special event be held at the White House in observance of this event. During the Bush years, the Dobsons and other Religious Right leaders were given special access to the White House. That seems to have come to an end, and I'm glad. Congress should never have mandated a National Day of Prayer. Americans don't need the government telling them when to pray and what to pray for. But if the federal government is going to set aside a prayer day, it should recognize the broad diversity of faiths, not just fundamentalist Christians," Lynn said.
Interfaith Alliance President, Rev. C. Welton Gaddy, took aim at Dobson and her organization.
"It is a shame that the National Day of Prayer Task Force seems to think it owns the National Day of Prayer. President Obama is not the Pastor-in-Chief of the nation and Shirley Dobson's Task Force is not the spiritual judge of the President''s personal or official actions. Mrs. Dobson has every right to call for a national Day of Prayer exclusive to Christians who share her particular doctrinal beliefs, but she has no right to demand, or even to expect, that the White House will embrace a national event that is not inclusive of all Americans," Gaddy said.
To coincide with the National Day of Prayer, a legal challenge to the proclamation has been filed by the Wisconsin- based Freedom From Religion Foundation.
Foundation Co-President Annie Gaylor said, "Prayer proclamations not only violate the separation between church and state, but offend reality, by suggesting we can suspend the national laws of the universe through wishful thinking."
Alliance Defense Fund lawyers are representing the National Day of Prayer Task Force and Dobson, regarding the federal lawsuit.
The American Center for Law & Justice filed a friend-of-the-court brief in defense of the National Day of Prayer, saying it is "deeply embedded in the tradition and history of this country," and that such a proclamation and observance does not violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.
Following the National Day of Prayer observance on Capitol Hill, several members of Congress and leaders of faith-based groups held a bipartisan news conference to affirm America's Christian heritage, as outlined in a House resolution (H.Res.397).
Rep. J. Randy Forbes (R-VA), chairman of the Congressional Prayer Caucus, is chief sponsor of America's Spiritual Heritage Resolution.
The measure, in part, states, "Whereas religious faith was not only important in official American life during the periods of discovery, exploration, colonization and growth, but has also been acknowledged and incorporated into all three branches of the federal government from their very beginning;
Whereas the Supreme Court of the United States affirmed this self-evident fact in a unanimous ruling, declaring, ‘This is a religious people...From the discovery of this continent to the present hour, there is a single voice making this affirmation.'
Tom Minnery, senior vice president of government and public policy for Focus on the Family Action, called the resolution "masterful."
"Never have I read a bill or resolution in Congress that went into this detail about confirmed facts signaling the Christian connection with the founding of the country.
We are a free nation because its people have been moral. They have formed an inner gyroscope telling them what is right and what is wrong. Without that inner moral gyroscope that comes from Biblical principles, freedom would descend into chaos," Minnery said.
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