The National Day of Prayer was made official in 1952, and before that there were other days of prayer. The day dates back to 1775. Is the National Day of prayer Unconstitutional? That is the current question on hand and President Obama is speaking up and saying no. The case is Freedom from religion vs. President Barack Obama, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, and Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle, and will be heard by the Supreme Court. In 2008, the Freedom from Religion Foundation sued President George W. Bush and other members of his administration stating that the day violated separation of Church and State. The Obama administration asked U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb to dismiss the case in March 2009, but instead the case was amended to include President Obama.
Judge Crabb ruled on April 15, 2010 that the statue enacting the national Day of Prayer is unconstitutional and in her reasoning she states “...Recognizing the importance of prayer to many people does not mean that the government may enact a statute in support of it, any more than the government may encourage citizens to fast during the month of Ramadan, attend a synagogue, purify themselves in a sweat lodge or practice rune magic.” The U.S. Department of Justice filed a notice to appeal the ruling on April 22, 2010.
The fact that people are arguing this seems ridiculous to me. We have already taken so much religious freedoms away from people because others are so worried that Christianity will take over the U.S. There is now no more prayer in schools, at sporting events, and children have gotten sent to the principal’s office for praying in class. The National Day of Prayer needs to stay. As judge Crabb admits herself, prayer gives people hope and in times of crisis and grief it can actually help people survive. This day celebrates faith, hope, and love, and taking it away would be a disgrace. If people don’t want to participate then they do not have to, they can just ignore it all together just as some people ignore holidays such as Valentine’s Day. It’s not like the government is forcing anyone to pray to God. It’s just a day set aside so that people that choose to can celebrate their individual faith and spirituality. This is a good thing and it should stick around.
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"National Day of Prayer" (NDP) is an interesting and, compared with other topics chosen by fellow classmates, unique choice of subject matter relating to US Government.
ReplyDeleteIt is obvious that, in addition to sharing her viewpoint, Jen did some research about this issue. Aside from some minor punctuation and grammar technicalities, the blog is both well-written and well-reasoned. Posts such as this one, which are separated into multiple paragraphs, are much easier to read than those that are not.
I skimmed through most of the class blogs and was attracted to Jen's post because it is on a topic about which I've been somewhat undecided. It's not that I'm ambivalent; it's simply that, as a non-traditional Christian, I can relate to both sides of the issue.
Although I grew up attending private Christian schools, I had never heard of the NDP until the 1990s - when I was in my 20s. It first seemed like kind of an odd concept to me. I mean, don't people who pray probably do so everyday? But when I saw how the NDP seemed to promote harmony among differing denominations I decided it was kind of cool. It wasn't until the recent ruling against the NDP's constitutionality hit the news that I became aware of our federal government's official sanctioning of the Day.
Well, that does seem rather unconstitutional to me. Yet at the same time, I don't understand how the people who want "Freedom From Religion" feel as if the Day makes them less free. They're not being required to pray, or even told who to pray to. As Jen says, "If people don’t want to participate then they do not have to..." And, since it's unlikely that they're listening to Christian radio, it's not as if they're going to hear it even mentioned more than once in the news - and certainly not propagandized. The most publicity I saw about it was in my neighborhood. Four or five neighbors had "Praying for the Heart of America" signs in their yards. Out of curiousity, I voluntarily went to that website to see what the "ndp" in "ndpaustin.org" stood for. I didn't even know, and I do listen to Christian radio!
One on-air comment I agreed with recently was that, "Nobody owns the National Day of Prayer." If its being a national "holiday" makes some people uncomfortable, then it probably should be abandoned by the government. Christians won't be abandoning the day that some claim as theirs. If anything, they'll just become even more adament about calling attention to prayer on that day. Sundays aren't set aside by the government as "holy days," yet most Christians who attend church choose to do so on that day of the week. If I were to attend weekly religious gatherings, I'd rather it be on Saturdays. So I'm very glad that nobody owns either of those days!
I'm grateful to Jen for her commentary on this issue, for it encouraged me to work through my own thoughts about it. But now I'm concerned for Christmas. Will it soon become a non-federal holiday? I like having that day off from work and school, even if that isn't the reason for the season.