The National Day of Prayer
“I don’t want to see religious bigotry in any form…it would disturb me if there was a wedding between the religious fundamentalists and the political right. The hard right has no interest in religion except to manipulate it.” – Billy Graham, Parade Magazine, 1 February 1981.
Depending on the source, the National Day of Prayer was established as a response to the Korean War, or to the specter of global communism, or as an attempt to link the America of the 1950’s to certain mythological notions of the nation’s “foundational Christian” principles.
Perhaps it was a little of all three.
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.
On the face of it, there is nothing intrinsically wrong with inviting people of faith into prayer. So long as there is no official government endorsement, there is nothing wrong with folks using public spaces to pray or express their views.
But a quick read of the statement of faith by the national organizing committee reveals who the target audience is.
“There is one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.” One might wonder how our Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhist siblings might participate when their own expressions of divinity are automatically excluded.
So too, other specifically fundamentalist and Protestant oriented beliefs are expressed that conflict with various sacramental and theological commitments found in the diverse world of Christian belief. The Holy Bible, it says, is “the Word of The Living God”, even though the Word of God, theologically speaking, is the Logos, Jesus Christ. Like many fundamentalist Protestants, the organizers have confused the Word of God (Logos) with sacred scripture (witness and testament).
The foundational ground for the National Day of Prayer excludes, from the beginning, many people of faith.
In Rhode Island, we carry with us the legacy of Roger Williams, a thinker who understood the importance of preserving a civil space where no, “uniformity of religion should be enacted or enforced,” and where a freedom of conscious and worship should “be granted to all men in all nations and countries.” The contemporary efforts by Christian Nationalists to rewrite American history, coupled with the very real efforts of our federal government to undermine religious freedom, make the observance of a National Day of Prayer an activity that lacks genuine authenticity and true belief.
We must consider the religious and political implications of the moment we are in. Clearly, as people of faith, we are committed to prayer. At the same time, we recognize that the flourishing of our secular democracy depends on our ability to embrace meaningful opportunities that include, expand, and embrace our differences.
In the current historical moment, the National Day of Prayer does not meet this public benchmark. It is neither a call to repentance nor an invitation into a more inclusive democracy. It is a well-polished veneer that hides the moral and spiritual rot that sits at the center of our nation’s absurdist public religion.
If we are to pray for anything tomorrow, then let it be for an end to economic systems that exploit and destroy human life. Let us pray for an end to white supremacy, patriarchy, and sexism. Let us pray to be people who prioritize compassion, empathy, and love.
And then let us remember that prayer is not merely a once-a-year public spectacle, but a call to consistent and courageous love-based action.
