Whatever its stated goal and original intent, it has been fully colonized by a full-throated Christian Nationalism, the result of the marriage between religious fundamentalists and the political right. In this sense, it is difficult to see how the National Day of Prayer has really anything to do with prayer anymore.

But as people of faith, our hope does not rest in a Supreme Court, a congress, or an idolatrous executive. Fear has been overcome by grace, and the love of God that compels us forward lights the path ahead.

The conversation around Mr. Kirk’s public stature has become confused. While his murder is clearly a moral evil, his public veneration is unwarranted.

So, dear siblings, let us care for one another in speech and in action…let us all work together to end all forms of hate in our church, our communities, our state, and our world.

Over the past few months, we’ve seen at least one of those views loud and clear, expressed primarily through various far-right ideologies of sexism, xenophobia, and white supremacy masquerading as Christianity.

People of faith are certainly free to pray as they see fit – in school, at a restaurant, or in church. What we are not allowed to do is to require or sanction prayer as if it were an essential part of American life.

I have argued (and preached!) that Christian faith that is grounded in an inclusive, love-based understanding of scripture has, to the detriment of American civil society, vacated the public sphere. In its place is a Christianity that is hardly recognizable in even the most cursory reading of the New Testament.   

The unpacking of the marriage between certain far-right political and religious interests is central to developing a response that not only takes seriously the effort to undermine American democracy, but also seeks to create healthy discourse about the ways in which our democratic systems can learn and grow beyond this inflection point.