Linda Thompson, mayor of Harrisburg, has recently received national and local media coverage because of open participation and endorsement of a period of three days of prayer and fasting in her official capacity as mayor. Thompson is quoted as saying, in an article written by Mary Klaus in The Patriot-News, “I am honored and pleased with the diverse participation of our religious leaders in support of our city. I am open about my faith and will be participating in the voluntary prayer and fast.” Atheists from Pennsylvania and elsewhere will be protesting Linda Thompson this Friday including David Silverman, the president of American Atheists and Pennsylvania Nonbelievers member Ernest Perce because they believe that Thompson's endorsement of this period of prayer and fasting is a violation of church/state separation.
In an article from CNBC, "Harrisburg Hoping God Can Help Balance the Books," Thompson is quoted as saying “Things that are above and beyond my control, I need God. I depend on Him for guidance. Spiritual guidance. That's why it's really no struggle for me to join this fast and prayer.” While it may be no struggle for Thompson to appeal to God, her official position is mayor, not preacher; instead of prayer and fasting, Thompson should concentrate on her responsibilities as mayor. Thompson says she depends on God for guidance, but this has failed in the past because Harrisburg is facing a tremendous financial crisis unless, of course, God exists and doesn't like Harrisburg. According to Pennsylvania's Department of Community and Economic Development, in the same CNBC article, “The financial crisis [in Harrisburg] is so severe that the City teeters uncomfortably on the verge of bankruptcy that could be triggered at any moment by parties outside its control." Prayer and fasting should not be an intelligent answer to Harrisburg's financial problems.
David Silverman, president of American Atheists, provided some insight specifically for this article. He called Thompson's actions a “complete violation of common sense, not only church and state” and also noted that “it is no responsibility of the mayor to preach religion.” Silverman also said that Thompson's religious preaching is not something new because “people were quitting [in the past] because they can't stand being preached at.” Silverman is right. Former Harrisburg grants manager Stover Clark resigned after Thompson and her staff “prayed for him to ask Jesus to forgive him for not accepting him as his savior” according to an article from The Patriot-News. Another person, Chuck Ardo, also resigned before Clark after alleging that Thompson had “made inappropriate comment about Jews and homosexuals.”
If a mayor or other government official in the Scranton area were to act like Thompson, these actions would not be tolerated by local atheists. In December of 2009, the Luzerne County Courthouse erected a religious display including a prominent nativity scene featured and illuminated with floodlights at night that was placed far away from a menorah and a single snowman behind a tree. Members of a local group of atheists, the Northeastern Pennsylvania Freethought Society, objected to the display by filing a formal complaint with the ACLU of Pennsylvania. The display was taken down and returned as part of an inclusive display of secular and religious symbols. A more detailed record of the controversy, with links to various media reporting, can be found here. Atheists across Pennsylvania are no longer tolerating government activity that endorses religion.
The protests will be occurring on Friday, June 24. The first protest will start at noon in front of city hall in Harrisburg and the second will take place at 4 p.m. at Goodwin Memorial Baptist Church on 2447 Green Street in Harrisburg. Goodwin Memorial is the location where a service concludes the period of fast and prayers. Ernest Perce from Pennsylvania Nonbelievers says, “There are many smart people in the city that can work out Harrisburg's debt crisis without introducing fasting and prayers into the process.” Local churches have been invited to join the protests because, Perce says, “it is not just an event for atheists, it is for people who understand that non-separation of church and state is against the law.” More information regarding the protests can be found here on a Facebook event page.
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