Bush finds it necessary to remind Americans to pray — repeatedly

In an interview with Tom Brokaw last week, President Bush was asked about the likelihood that Iraqis, when given an opportunity to vote, would choose an Islamic theocracy via the ballot box.

Bush responded, “What I would like to see is a government where church and state are separated.”

For those of who’ve followed Bush’s disinterest in maintaining government neutrality on religion here in the U.S., the answer was amusing, if not surprising. This is a president, after all, who has touted an aggressive “faith-based” initiative intended to direct tax dollars to religious ministries, supports posting the “standard version” of the Ten Commandments in government buildings, voiced support for a constitutional amendment on school prayer in 1994, and sees no problem with public school science classes teaching students about creationism.

For crying out loud, the same guy who now wants Iraq to remain a strict secular democracy also issued a gubernatorial proclamation on June 10, 2000, declaring it “Jesus Day” in the state of Texas.

With this in mind, today is a special day for the president. You may not be aware of it, but the first Thursday in May is one of those special government holidays that few actually celebrate.

Today is the 51st National Day of Prayer.

Though you probably won’t find any cards celebrating the National Day of Prayer at Hallmark, it was established as an annual event by Congress in 1952 (shortly before Congress also decided to change the Pledge of Allegiance to include “under God” and to change all American money to include the phrase “In God We Trust.” But I digress…). Before 1952, there were occasional instances in which presidents and/or lawmakers would offer prayer proclamations, but there wasn’t an official day.

The law changed again in 1988, as religious right groups successfully pressured Congress to set the day for the National Day of Prayer as the first Thursday in May. This, of course, brings us to today.

What’s the purpose of a National Day of Prayer? As ridiculous as this may sound in a country with a First Amendment, it’s a day in which the government tells us all of us that we should pray. No, I’m not kidding. Instead of allowing each of us to decide on our own whether or not to pray, we have a special day set aside by the government to encourage worship.

Like all of his modern predecessors, Bush has issued a formal declaration in honor of this “holiday.” I’m not subjecting Bush to any unique criticism for this; he’s no worse for issuing this proclamation than every president since Eisenhower.

I do, however, think it’s fair to criticize Bush for the overwhelming number of official “prayer days” he’s proclaimed since taking office. At this point in his presidency, George W. Bush has marked 10 days as official days of prayer in America. Since he’s only been in office 28 months, that translates to an official prayer declaration from the White House once every 2.8 months. And he’s still got a year and a half left.

While most presidents have issued similar proclamations, no president in U.S. history has ever issued so many official prayer edicts in such a short period of time. Here’s a quick summary of Bush’s prayer declarations:

January 21, 2001 — In one of his first acts as the nation’s chief executive, Bush issues a proclamation ordering Jan. 21 as a “national day of prayer.” Bush, in the proclamation, called “upon the citizens of our Nation to gather together in homes and places of worship to pray alone and together and offer thanksgiving to God for all the blessings of this great and good land.” He added, “I ask Americans to bow our heads in humility before our Heavenly Father, a God who calls us not to judge our neighbors, but to love them, to ask His guidance upon our Nation and its leaders in every level of government.”

April 30, 2001 — Bush honors the National Day of Prayer, issuing a proclamation encouraging “the citizens of our Nation to pray each in his or her own manner, seeking God’s blessings on our families and government officials and personal renewal, moral awakening, and a new spirit of harmony across our land.”

May 25, 2001 — Bush declares Memorial Day as “a day of prayer for permanent peace, and I designate the hour beginning in each locality at 11:00 a.m. of that day as a time to unite in prayer.”

September 13, 2001 — Bush declares a national day of prayer for the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

April 26, 2002 — Bush honors the official National Day of Prayer again, asking “Americans to pray for God’s protection, to express gratitude for our blessings, and to seek moral and spiritual renewal.”

May 21, 2002 — Bush celebrates Memorial Day with another designation of the day as one of “prayer for permanent peace.” Like the previous year, Bush encourages local governments to set aside 11 a.m. as a time for Americans to “unite in prayer.”

August 31, 2002 — Bush proclaims thee days of prayer, spanning from Sept. 6 to Sept. 8. In his proclamation, Bush asks that Americans and houses of worship “mark these National Days of Prayer and Remembrance with memorial services, the ringing of bells, and evening candlelight remembrance vigils.”

Yesterday — Bush recognizes the National Day of Prayer for the third time, concluding that “in this hour of history’s calling, American are bowing humbly…in the presence of the Almighty.” Bush’s proclamation goes on to ask Americans “to pray, each after his or her own faith, in thanksgiving for the freedoms and blessings we have received for God’s continues guidance and protection.”

Bear in mind, this “holiday” as been around for decades, but it does not go back to the founding of the nation. In fact, Founding Fathers such as Thomas Jefferson and James Madison believed presidential prayer day proclamations were inconsistent with the principles of the First Amendment.

Much to his critics’ chagrin, Jefferson refused to issue prayer proclamations during his two terms in the White House. Writing to the Rev. Samuel Miller in 1808, Jefferson said, “Fasting and prayer are religious exercises; the enjoining them an act of discipline. Every religious society has a right to determine for itself the times for these exercises, and the objects proper for them, according to their own particular tenets; and this right can never be safer than in their own hands, where the Constitution has deposited it.”

Madison, widely recognized by historians as the “Father of the Constitution,” also considered prayer proclamations to be inappropriate. Although Madison issued a few prayer proclamations under political pressure from Congress, he later said such proclamations are inappropriate. In a collection of writings referred to as the “Detached Memoranda,” Madison said religious proclamations by the government “seem to imply and certainly nourish the erroneous idea of a national religion.” He also wrote that it is problematic for the government to use its authority to intervene in religion and that public officials lack “an advisory trust from their Constituents in their religious capacities.”

Maybe someday we’ll get a president who realizes that Americans don’t need official instruction from politicians on when and how to pray. Then again, I’m not counting on it.

Today may be the first Thursday in May, but regardless of the calendar, Americans can pray, or not pray, based on the dictates of their conscience. It simply isn’t the government’s job to encourage us on matters of personal faith, one way or the other.