Obama to sign National Day of Prayer proclamation

May 2, 8:39 AMAtheism ExaminerTrina Hoaks

Previous Next

44 comments Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the Atheism Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

I received an e-mail yesterday telling me that President Obama plans sign a  National Day of Prayer proclamation. As you might imagine, this dismays (to put it mildly) many secularists, humanists, and atheists across the nation. Hasn't this country been under the influence of religion and pointless prayer for long enough for the point to have been driven home that this approach doesn't work? We just came out of one of the darkest periods in this country's history and the country is in a shambles. Doesn't that tell us anything? Will we ever learn? It is time to move away from the nonsensical stranglehold that religion has on this country. Proclaiming yet another National Day of Prayer is a move in the wrong direction.

With this proclamation on the horizon, many are beginning to wonder if all of the president's mentions of non-believers and the like have merely been lip service. Sure, he mentioned us in his inaugural address, but that inauguration also included a religious invocation and benediction, one of which was delivered by the controversial hater and bigot, Rick Warren.

He gave us a place at the table during his transition and has invited us to be a part of the discussion about the previous administration's faith-based initiative. But he kept the faith-based initiative intact. And, he appointed a committee that is comprised mostly of religious folk - who stand to benefit from the program - to oversee the program.

While he was in Turkey, he made the point that this is not a Christian nation. But now he is on the verge of proclaiming a National Day of Prayer.

We had hoped for more from a President who is a scholar of the US Constitution. We expected him to understand that government should not favor or promote religion over non-religion and that there should be a wall of separation between church and state. And, although he may very well understand these things as his words at times have indicated, some of his actions seem to indicate that he doesn't care.

It seems clear that what this nation needs is an officially proclaimed National Day of Reason (there is an unofficial one that coincides with the National Day of Prayer) so that our lawmakers might be encouraged to pause to reflect on why a National Day of Prayer is wrong.

More on this topic:
'National Day of Prayer' proponents to defend day against 'radicals'
There he goes again: A response to 'National Day of Prayer under attack'
National Day of Reason vs National Day of Prayer