The National Day of Prayer, on May 7 this year, has been recognized by the United States Congress since 1952 as a day when Americans are asked to come together to pray. Because it does not specify a religion, it seems to have escaped the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment clause prohibiting the congress from making laws "respecting an establishment of religion," though many civil liberty advocates and constitutional scholars would beg to differ.
The day was founded at a time when Americans were trying to distinguish themselves from overtly atheist Soviet Communism during the red scare, coding "in God we trust" as the national motto (1956) and inserting "under God" into the Pledge of Allegiance (1954).
The vision can be one of unity: all people, regardless of faith, bowing heads together in the spirit of unity to respect and recognize our common humanity and create some positive spiritual energy for the good of the nation.
Yet there are certainly American citizens who don't pray - who don't believe in prayer - and who are unlikely to be impressed by the day's overtly spiritual message. Respecting all faiths is not the same as respecting all people regardless of faith, which is what the Constitution was designed to do. An overtly "multifaith" society still promotes faith over nonfaith, and there are even many religious groups that do not pray and do not formally believe in God.
The National Day of Prayer task force is a nongovernmental group funded primarily by Evangelical Christian churches to promote the Day of Prayer. They ask for a wherever-you-are gathering of the nation's Christians hoping to foster Christian unity and make Christian prayer more visible in American society. According to the project's website, "The Task Force represents a Judeo-Christian expression of the national observance, based on our understanding that this country was birthed in prayer and in reverence for the God of the Bible."
This presentation of the National Day of Prayer fosters unity of the nation's Christians, or at least the Baptists, Presbyterians, Methodists, Evangelicals and other easily-accepted Christian groups. They are do not state whether or not they consider Roman Catholics, Latter Day Saints or Jehovah’s Witness to be part of the Christian community, but since they do not formally exclude these Christian-identifying groups we can consider them included.
While it is certainly fair to dispute the factuality of the group's representation of U.S. history, it is also noteworthy that American Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, Sikhs, Baha'is, those who practice Native American religions and others are excluded from their presentation of the Day of Prayer, along with religious nontheists, agnostics and the nonreligious alike. Meanwhile, the "Judeo-Christian" values the group promotes are often code for policies that are anti-gay, anti-transgendered and anti-feminist, meaning that many people are born automatically excluded by the group's language.
There are organizations pushing to change the way Americans see the National Day of Prayer - to welcome Evangelical Christians into the interfaith event but also to allow people of other faiths to participate. Jewish and interfaith groups have teamed up for an inclusive prayer day and sent a letter to President Obama asking for support. And anyone is welcome to organize an alternative public event on that day to increase the visibility of a welcoming multifaith movement.
It's important to remember that being overtly interfaith is not being anti-Christian, though many conservative groups claim this is so. Inclusion means opening the door to others and leaving no one out. And while the federal recognition of day is a predicament to those who seek to respect the First Amendment, no one can dispute the right that nongovernment groups have to push for a multifaith and multicultural National Day of Prayer.
Comments
This is a day set aside for all Americans to pray. Perhaps this perception that Christians have "hijacked" the day exists because we are well-organized, with thousands of coordinators who plan events attended by millions of people. As a result, our efforts gain a lot of attention surrounding the National Day of Prayer, but we don’t take away the right for anyone else to celebrate this day.
Many of these criticisms come from groups that have everything upside down. Nothing prevents Jews, Muslims, etc. from creating their own national prayer committees to contribute to this historic, national observance. There have been 134 national calls for prayer, humiliation, fasting and thanksgiving by the President (1789 to 2008). Since President Reagan’s 1988 proclamation establishing the first Thursday in May as annual date for the National Day of Prayer established into law by President Truman in 1952 , Christian groups eagerly created national and local prayer committees. Today there are tens of thousands of Christian-oriented events on the 1st Thursday of every May. Jews, however, do not respond in the same way. Virtually no synagogues participate. Our research has revealed little to no events in the newspapers or Internet advertising events sponsored by other faiths as well. Instead other faiths demand penetration into Christian groups or else, incredibly, an end of the National Day of Prayer completely.
The National Day of Prayer Task Force has chosen to conduct events that reflect its Judeo-Christian perspective on prayer. All Americans are free to exercise their First Amendment rights to organize events that observe the National Day of Prayer in a manner that reflects their religious perspective. While we don’t put those of different religious perspectives on our platform, we don’t exclude them from attending ,nor do we discourage other faiths from holding their own events on this day.
That you don't formally exclude other religions is great, Bob, but why not invite others to pray with you?
What I fear is at play is a religious/political message that praying hand in hand with those of other faiths is the same as "condoning" those faiths in what conservative Christians see as paths to hell.
It would be so easy to just say "The Christian National Day of Prayer Task Force invites non-Christian churches and groups to pray with us." That kind of outreach would do a lot of good in a world divided along religious lines.
But doing so would directly contradict those groups' political orientations that are against anything that could be interpereted as condoning non-Christianity.
It isn't a question of respect for other persons beliefs. Other religions pray to a different god(s) than Christians so it's a useless activity to pray together. We can still live in harmony without praying together.
Are other faiths so lazy that they can't organize their own events and pray for our nation. BTW, I don't see other faiths inviting Christians into their temples, synagogues, etc. to pray with them.
Other religions pray to different gods? I wasn't aware that Christians beleived there was more than one God.
So did Jesus introduce a new God who wasn't the God of the Jews?
The God of the Bible says "I am that I am" when asked by Moses in the Old Testament.
Note that he did't say "I am Jason, and anybody who calls me Steve is praying to somebody else." In that reference, God refuses to use specific descriptors and instead presents Himself as an ultimate or supreme God, who is the God you beleive in if you beleive in a Supreme God.
Muslims also worship the God of the Jews, so that's the same god. They beleive he as slightly different commandments or qualities. Christians think some of those qualities are wrong, but they are both clearly worshipping the god of Moses and Abraham.
Hindus beleive that God exists in everything, including lesser beings that Westerners call gods (with a small g.) In Hinduism, Hindu gods (Krishna, Vishnu, Shiva) are closer to the way Christians see angels or saints.
The Hindu supreme God is monotheist, the One God. So unless the Christian God is not supreme or not the One God, Hindus beleive in the same god.
You don't see other faiths inviting Christians to pray with them because in the United States, those other faiths are minority groups. They are not highly visible. When's the last time you met and spoke to a Hindu AT ALL?
People of other faiths are in comunities where minorities are present - usually in urban areas. If you are a Christian living within a major city (not the suburbs or rural areas), you're probably more familiar with interfaith activities.
I live in a fairly diverse town and I have been invited to interfaith activies frequently.
Jehovah's Witnesses cult don't play well with others .
They are still developing more tax free real estate.
Know this,the billion dollar Watchtower society corporation had us old time followers convinced that we should live lives of austerity (and give our $$ to them) because the end of world was coming and we weren't gonna be needing it for our retirement.
The tax exempt Watchtower corporation is much like tax exempt Scientology they will keep buying up property like Scientology has done in Clearwater Florida.
The Watchtower has practically no charity except for an occasional exalted PR puff piece.
Shame on them!
Matthew 6:5-6
"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."
PR events to support prayer are self serving and hypocritical. Christians have no business doing it, and no one else seems to have enough bad taste to show off like that. Showing off and CLAIMING piety isn't the same thing as genuine faith.
People shouldn't be using Jesus to further their political, financial, and social aspirations in this manner. If you tried to claim Oprah's endorsement without her permission, you'd be sued out of existence.
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