A designation between church and state: it is the main foundation of American society, and something that has set us apart from so many other nations in the past. But are we abiding by this distinction that we so proudly uphold? Recently the largest group of atheists and agnostics in the United States, The Freedom From Religion Foundation, sued various governmental leaders, including President Bush, for designating a National Day of Prayer. The group claims that President Bush’s call for a day of prayer violates the ban on governmental officials sanctioning religion.
This day of prayer, signed into law in 1952, calls for Americans of any and all religions to gather on the first Thursday in May to pray for their country. But what about the nonbelievers of America? Although no one is required to participate in prayer, and all actions are voluntary, the lawsuit is claiming that the day of prayer creates a “hostile environment for nonbelievers, who are made to feel as if they are political outsiders.” On the contrary, one might argue that this is an extreme view of this National Day of Prayer. No such “hostile environment” is created; it may be felt hostile due to the self inflicted feelings of a nonbeliever, but to state that we should disband the National Day of Prayer because it might cause a small amount of the American population to feel like “political outsiders” is a stretch. For a day that is meant to bring peace and unity to America is now just another center of controversy. And we have to ask ourselves: are there not bigger fish to fry in the world today than arguing over the National Day of Prayer?
sources: http://pewforum.org/news/display.php?NewsID=15522
http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2008-10-06-prayer-day_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip
2 comments:
me--I respectfully disagree with your assertion that the fuss the Freedom From Religion Foundation is making about this National Day of Prayer is unnecessary. The separation of church and state is, as you mentioned, an important aspect of American society. The National Day of Prayer has not only an immediate effect (in creating a “hostile environment” for agnostics and atheists), but it represents the government’s acknowledgement and endorsement of religion.
I don’t mean to seem too extreme by saying that the government discreetly supports any specific religion(s), but little things like a National Day of Prayer, God’s name on our dollar bill, and the phrase “one nation, under God” in our Pledge of Allegiance must be removed if our country is going to prove that we value a separation of church and state. Otherwise, we are doing it half-heartedly.
If any religious organization that exists on the national scale, such as the Christian Coalition, wants to hold a National Day of Prayer this would be totally fine. It is legitimate to argue that most of the country, about 92% of Americans, does believe in God, and that a National Day of Prayer would be applicable to this large majority. However, it continues to send the wrong message if our government endorses such an event, regardless of how trivial it may seem to us now.
I would just like to point out a logical argument. It seems rational that if 92% of the populous believes in something, that is a great enough majority for it to at least be passively recognized. For instance, today is Columbus Day, so it seems that our government endorses Columbus as a national hero. But do at least 92% of Americans think of Columbus as an American hero? (If you're unclear of the background, Columbus was Spanish, didn't actually land on America, and massacred native tribes on the islands that he did "discover"). I don't have the statistics, but I doubt it. I'm trying to show that the "thought" that goes into these holidays can be a little silly sometimes, and that perhaps they should not be taken to seriously. If the holiday required people to do something, which I've never heard of before, then the case might be different. But just a holiday, in name, is not so bad.
I say this because issues like this tend to become explosive social debates, and, even though I fully agree with margarita's assertion that the government has no place endorsing such a holiday, I do think it tends to lead to wasted resources. The are much greater problems with the separation of church and state in our society that we should focus on.
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