Graham Prays at Pentagon in Spite of being Uninvited - Friday, May 7, 2010

In spite of a ruling by a US District Judge that it is unconstitutional for the government to encourage its citizens to pray, President Barak Obama declared May 6 as the National Day of Prayer.  By so doing he was maintaining a tradition that goes back to at least 1952.

On April 30, 2010 President Obama said: ““We are blessed to live in a nation that counts freedom of conscience and free exercise of religion among its most fundamental principles, thereby ensuring that all people of goodwill may hold and practice their beliefs according to the dictates of their consciences.  Prayer has been a sustaining way for many Americans of diverse faiths to express their most cherished beliefs, and thus we have long deemed it fitting and proper to publicly recognize the importance of prayer on this day across the nation.”  He then proclaimed the day of prayer.

In 1988 Congress fixed the first Thursday in May as the annual National Day of Prayer.  However, on April 15, 2010, US District Judge Barbara Crabb of Wisconsin agreed with the plaintiff who had sued to put an end to government involvement in the event, which is marked by both public and private ceremonies across the USA.

While recognizing the importance of prayer in the personal lives of many Americans, Crabb’s 66 page decision states “It bears emphasizing that a conclusion that the [First Amendment’s] Establishment Clause prohibits the government from endorsing a religious exercise is not a judgment on the value of prayer or the millions of Americans who believe in its power.  No one can doubt the important role that prayer plays in the spiritual life of a believer. However, recognizing the importance of prayer to many people does not mean that the government may enact a statute in support of it, any more than the government may encourage citizens to fast during the month of Ramadan, attend a synagogue, purify themselves in a sweat lodge or practice rune magic.”

In a related story, evangelist Franklin Graham had originally been invited by the National Day of Prayer Task Force to speak at the Pentagon on May 6 for the annual ceremony.  When it was announced that he was to be the speaker, some employees at the Pentagon complained because of Graham’s statement following the attack on the World Trade Center that Islam was an “evil religion.”  Objections to the evangelist came from the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, headed by Mickey Weinstein (and derided by Graham in an interview with me Tuesday as "an organization of one man who rants and raves") and Muslims in the military (who Graham called a handful of people who are being allowed to "trample on Christian rights").The military brass then rescinded the invitation to have Graham speak.

In spite of being uninvited, Rev. Graham showed up yesterday outside the Pentagon and along with half a dozen others stood on the sidewalk and bowed his head in prayer for about five minutes.  Meanwhile, inside at the official ceremony, a quickly organized meeting was held led by the head of the Armed Forces Chaplain Board (a Protestant) along with Catholic, Jewish and Muslim chaplains.

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