On this day (only) we pray

By Weekly Archive On May 13, 2009

By
Bill Press

At
some point on May 7, I trust you stopped whatever you were doing, got
down on your knees and prayed. Surely you realized it was this year’s
National Day of Prayer.

As
every God-fearing American must know, the National Day of Prayer was
first declared in 1952 by a Democrat, Harry Truman. It was observed
sporadically until 1988, when a Republican, Ronald Reagan, decreed
that its official celebration would take place every year on the
first Thursday in May.

Now,
this may not tickle your personal religious ivories, but for
Christian conservatives, the National Day of Prayer is a big deal —
or at least it was, until this year. In fact, on every first Thursday
of May for the last eight years, President Bush invited leading
Evangelicals to a prayer service in the East Room of the White House.
And Christian leaders expected the same kind of exclusive welcome
from President Obama.

Turns
out they were wrong to do so. Obama did sign a proclamation,
recognizing May 7 as the National Day of Prayer. But he led no prayer
service or any public display of faith in the White House. He saw no
need to because, as Press Secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters,
"Prayer is something the president does every day."

But
Obama’s refusal to throw a holy White House shindig left religious
conservatives feeling betrayed. Shirley Dobson, wife of evangelical
leader James Dobson and head of the National Day of Prayer Task
Force, lamented: "At this time in our country’s history, we
would hope our president would recognize more fully the importance of
prayer." And, in a debate with me on MSNBC, conservative TV
commentator Pat Buchanan actually accused Obama of "de-Christianizing
America."

In
fact, Obama’s only mistake was signing the declaration for a National
Prayer Day. In so doing, he decided to follow George W. Bush instead
of Thomas Jefferson, who rebuffed a similar invitation in January
1808. In a letter to Rev. Samuel Miller, he explained his decision:
"I consider the government of the U.S. as interdicted by the
Constitution from intermeddling with religious institutions, their
doctrines, discipline, or exercises. … Certainly no power to
prescribe any religious exercise … has been delegated to the
general government."

In
failing to stage a revival meeting in the White House, however, Obama
was absolutely correct. First, let’s be honest. The National Day of
Prayer has nothing to do with religion. It’s all about politics. The
only reason George W. Bush held prayer services in the East Room was
to reward Christian conservatives for their arguably illegal efforts
to get him elected and re-elected to the White House. When you see
the video of Bush bowing his head and holding hands with James
Dobson, don’t think prayer. Think payback.

Second,
the very idea of a National Day of Prayer is silly to begin with.
What’s next? A National Day of Being Good to Your Kids? Or a National
Day of Kissing Your Wife? Nothing wrong with any of the above, but
you shouldn’t really wait till the first Thursday of May to do them.

Third,
there should be no worship services held in the White House, period.
They’re a direct violation of the separation of church and state,
every bit as unconstitutional as planting a monument to the Ten
Commandments in the lobby of the state house. If the president does
want to host an ecumenical prayer service, any day of the year, fine.
But he or she should do so in a house of worship. There are plenty of
them within easy walking distance of the White House.

As
for Buchanan’s charge that Obama is "de-Christianizing America,"
he knows better. We have no established state religion. We are not a
Christian nation. We have never been a Christian nation. And we were
not founded by Christians. You can’t "de-Christianize"
something that was not "Christianized" in the first place.

Rather
than clamor for a White House worship service, those Christians
obsessed with the need to pray in public, under the glare of TV
cameras, should reread the words of Jesus, starting with Matthew
6:5-6: "And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for
they love to pray on the street corners to be seen by men. … 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."

Let
Barack Obama say: Amen!

Bill
Press is host of a nationally syndicated radio show and author of a
new book, "Train
Wreck: The End of the Conservative Revolution (and Not a Moment Too
Soon)." You
can hear "The Bill Press Show" at his Web site:
billpressshow.com. His email address is: bill@billpress.com.