Thought on National Day of Prayer...

Recently a group known as the "Freedom from Religion Foundation" filed a lawsuit against President Obama stating that the National Day of Prayer is a violation of seperation of church and state. On April 15, 2010, Judge Barbara Crabb ruled in favor of the group, stating that the day was unconstitutional. The Obama administration is planning to appeal the decision, stating that it is not merely a religious event, but a national tradition.

The National Day of Prayer was set into motion in 1952 when the bill passed unanimously in both houses of congress, and was signed by President Truman. The bill stated that every year the President would choose the date on which the National Day of Prayer would occur. In 1988, a new bill was ratified, declaring a set date for the event, placing it on the first Thursday of May, and each year since then, it has been so. This year, President Obama will declare the 59th annual (and possibly final) National Day of Prayer.

Annie Laurie Gaylor, the Foundation's co-president, was quoted as saying, "It is such a profound violation of conscience for Congress to direct our President to tell all citizens to pray, and that they in fact must set aside an entire day for prayer once year."

I personally believe that the guiding force for the Freedom from Religion Foundation can be summed up in one word: Ignorance. To think that the President is in some way 'forcing' the American people to pray is absurd. A 2008 poll posted in the Washington Post showed that 92 percent of Americans believe in God or some higher power, including one in five people who claim to be atheist and more than half of those who claim to be agnostic. So, out of the 300 million or so citizens of our country, 24 million of those do not believe in some sort of higher spiritual being...hmmm, I'm not sure but that seems like a gross minority. And I think I would be correct in assuming that only a small fraction of those believe as the Freedom from Religion Foundation, and even care if there is a National Day of Prayer.

Prayer is something that emboldens people. It comes from our very core and exposes the deepest nature of our being. Even the most astute, non-believing, secular being, when facing strife, might find himself inwardly asking for help and/or guidance. He doesn't know who he's asking, but something inside of him is reaching for an answer.

A National Day of Prayer isn't forced upon us. On the contrary, it's a benefit to living in a free country. The government isn't telling us that have to pray to any one being or even how we have to pray...in fact, the government isn't telling us that we have to pray at all. With a National Day of Prayer, we are simply recognizing the fact that our country and our constitution were founded on a set of principles. God and religion were paramount in the minds of our founding fathers while they set up the framework of our fair nation. Now, to be fair, I will point out that both James Madison and Thomas Jefferson both opposed an established National Day of Prayer, with the latter stating that "Every religious society has a right to determine for itself the time for (prayer)...". But as I stated earlier, this is not forced upon anyone, and for the majority of Americans, it's a glorious way to come together to celebrate what they believe. And it's not just for one belief structure, but for them all. The National Day of Prayer is for anyone who feels the need to pray, regardless of what they believe. I don't for one instant feel that everyone should believe just as I do. But there is nothing derogatory, invasive, or unconstitutional about a National Day of Prayer. I suppose next people will want to remove the celebration of Martin Luther King Day simply because we're not all black.