I’ve posted entries about the National Day of Prayer before (perhaps most notably here and in a 4-part series of entries that starts here.)

This year’s event looks to be a bit different than those of the recent past.

Here’s why:

—– National Day Of Prayer: Evangelical Christians Are Upset That White House Isn’t Doing More (Manya A. Brachear /The Chicago Tribune; May 6)

After a standing invitation to the White House during the Bush administration, evangelical Christian organizers of activities for the National Day of Prayer have not been invited to visit the White House on Thursday.

President Barack Obama plans to mark the day by issuing a proclamation. He will not have a ceremony at the White House, a spokesman said Tuesday.

“We are disappointed in the lack of participation by the Obama administration,” said Shirley Dobson, chairwoman of the National Day of Prayer Task Force, who for the last eight years has attended a White House ceremony with her husband, James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family. “At this time in our country’s history, we would hope our president would recognize more fully the importance of prayer.”

But some accuse the Dobsons and others of hijacking a day intended for interfaith prayer and reflection to promote a conservative political and social agenda.

Last month, the Interfaith Alliance joined others in urging Obama to support a National Day of Prayer and Reflection “that restores and respects our nation’s best values by explicitly inviting clergy from diverse faith traditions to participate equally and fully — especially in events held on government property.”

Ron Millar, acting director for the Secular Coalition of America, commended the White House’s decision to discontinue former President George W. Bush’s traditional ceremony, which he said championed the Religious Right more than it promoted prayer. Either way, it’s not something the federal government should encourage, Millar said. “It’s a nice first step,” he said. “Generally, we don’t want the federal government to endorse prayer because it’s endorsing a specific religion. We’d rather them not be in that business. It would be difficult to be all inclusive on this.”

A White House official scoffed at Dobson’s implication that Obama does not recognize the significance of prayer. “President Obama is a committed Christian and believes that we should be engaging Americans of faith in efforts to renew our country,” the official said. “He is following the tradition of Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and others by signing a proclamation honoring the National Day of Prayer, while continuing to work with communities of faith to improve our country.”

Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs said Obama will mark the day privately.

The National Day of Prayer was signed into law in 1952 by President Harry Truman after a six-week crusade in the nation’s capital led by Rev. Billy Graham. Members of the House and Senate introduced a joint resolution for an annual 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.”

But the idea had been rejected several times previously by presidents. Thomas Jefferson wrote that “every religious society has a right to determine for itself the time for” prayer. James Madison wrote in 1817 that national days of prayer “seem to imply and certainly nourish the erroneous idea of a national religion.”

After Truman signed the law, Reagan amended it in 1988 to be held the first Thursday in May.

Here’s how one famous secularist recently explained his views on this event:

—– National Day Of Non-Prayer? (Herb Silverman/OnFaith/The Washington Post; May 5)

Thursday is National Day of Prayer, as mandated by Congress. What should President Obama do? Should he follow tradition and sign a ceremonial proclamation? Should he follow President George W. Bush’s practice of hosting a formal White House event? Should he ignore it completely?

Imagine this hypothetical companion headline: “President Obama will also sign a proclamation Friday recognizing National Day of Non-Prayer.” Obama would explain that he’s being inclusive, as in previous declarations that the U.S. is “no longer a Christian nation,” echoed in his inaugural address that America is a nation of many faiths and “nonbelievers.”

Of course, I would not expect the president to set aside a special day for what I happily choose to do every day – not pray. And President Obama was wrong to say we were once a Christian nation. We were founded as, and remain, a secular nation, where individuals can pray to one, many, or no gods. We are a nation whose constitution favors neither religion nor non-religion.

Historically, the overwhelming majority of Americans were Christians, and Christianity is still the dominant religion. However, the majority of Americans are also white, and we don’t call ourselves a white nation or ask the president to promote a National White Day. Actually, here in South Carolina, a former head of the Charlestown County school board, John Graham Altman, objected to “Black History Month.” So he proposed a “White History Month,” which received proper public disapproval.

Most Americans would give priority to black history, women’s studies, and GLBT programs over their race, gender, and sexual orientation counterparts. Not because we know all there is to know about whites, men, and heterosexuals, but because we recognize how underrepresented are the contributions of certain groups against whom we have long discriminated. Altman’s antebellum attitude might be an argument for why a non-prayer day would be more enlightening than a prayer day.

A Hindu friend of mine would be both surprised and delighted if President Obama were to call for a national day to recognize the god Vishnu, to which Christian friends would object even more than I. Vishnu is as real to me as is Yahweh, Zeus, and any other gods. But National Vishnu Day would at least give Americans something to think about, and in my mind, thinking is more effective than praying.

I do congratulate President Obama for not making as big a deal of the National Day of Prayer as did President Bush, and it would be silly to request a non-prayer day. But a president who wants to base decisions more on evidence than on faith might consider issuing a proclamation recognizing a National Day of Reason. Who could object to a president promoting reason?

(Silverman is Distinguished Professorof Mathematics at the College of Charleston and President of the Secular Coalition for America.)

And here’s how one Christian group has expressed its views:

—– Baptist Group Not Keen On Government-Sponsored National Day Of Prayer (Sam Hodges/The Dallas Morning News; May 6)

The Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty is all for prayer, but says the government should stay out of the way. Here’s a press release, timed to tomorrow’s National Day of Prayer:
Baptist group says National Day of Prayer is misguided and unnecessary

Day of prayer more appropriately called for by pastors, rabbis and imams

WASHINGTON: Congress’ official designation and the President’s predictable proclamation of a National Day of prayer is misguided and unnecessary, says a Washington, D.C.-based church-state organization.

J. Brent Walker, executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, said “it is not the government’s job to tell the American people what, where or when to pray or even if they should pray.”

In 1952, Congress passed a joint resolution, signed by President Harry Truman, setting aside one day a year for prayer. Since then, presidents have proclaimed a day for prayer annually observed on the first Thursday of May. The administration has announced President Obama will sign a proclamation but will not hold an event this year.

“There is nothing wrong with the American people getting together to pray on a designated day, even public officials,” Walker said. “In fact every day should be a day of national prayer. President Obama, like others before him, welcomes prayers for our country and its leadership. He has expressed his personal appreciation for such support, and people of faith feel called to pray for our country.

“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,” Walker said.

Walker said people of faith do not require the government’s stamp of approval for their religious practices.

“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.”

What do you think? Are you more or less likely to pray if Congress and/or the president asks you to? Do events like this help or hurt society as a whole? Are they merely a distraction from more important things?

Please share! :-)