Is the National Prayer Day unconstitutional?
“Crabb's ruling is flawed.
The Establishment Clause bars the government from passing legislation to create an official religion or preferring one religion over another. The prayer proclamation makes no attempt to do either. In fact, the 2009 National Day of Prayer proclamation signed by President Barack Obama makes reference to "all great religions."”
So what about the non-religious? Notwithstanding Obama’s proclamation, the event was a Christian one during the Bush years and many on the right will continue to insist that’s the case.
“Nothing in the proclamation precludes those who do not believe in prayer from abstaining. Furthermore, each religious group can ignore or recognize the day in its own way.”
Right, no one is being forced to participate but the government is still endorsing a religious position and saying that religion is better than no religion.
“For evangelicals, the National Day of Prayer is not only an acknowledgment of our nation's history but a plea for God to guide us through our future as he guided our founders through the past.”
Why is a government sanctioned day needed to plea to God? True believers would pray each and every day regardless of whether government approved of it.
To answer the question: yes it is unconstitutional. It is still an endorsement of religion, even if it endorses all religions.
No comments:
Post a Comment