It’s no surprise that Religious Right leaders James and Shirley Dobson dropped by the White House this morning to join the National Day of Prayer (NDP) observance there. The Dobsons have been strong supporters of President George W. Bush, and Shirley heads the NDP Task Force, a private group that promotes fundamentalist Christian-oriented NDP events around the country.
Bush thanked Shirley for her work and added that he was “glad you brought old Jim with you.” Bush’s NDP proclamation this year even picked up the Dobsons’ theme, “Prayer!
If you weren’t paying close attention, you might get the impression that the Dobsons’ project is an official agency of the
The theocracy-minded Dobsons want
Fortunately, a lot of Americans, including many religious leaders, are waking up to the problems inherent in government support for one religious perspective (or for religion generally, for that matter.) Leading thinkers among our nation’s Founders knew faith and democracy do best when there is a healthy separation between religion and government.
In an op-ed circulated today to newspapers around the country, the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and the Rev. Welton Gaddy, president of the Interfaith Alliance Foundation, took issue with the Religious Right’s co-option of the NDP. (
Here’s what they had to say:
The National Day of Prayer: Bait and Switch by the Religious Right
By Rev. Dr. C. Welton Gaddy and Rev.
As ordained ministers, we understand the important role faith plays in many people’s lives. It is unfortunate, however, that instead of serving as a force for joining together Americans of all walks of life and religious beliefs, the National Day of Prayer has become an annual exercise in religious bait and switch catered by the Religious Right.
The NDP dates back more than a half century. In 1952, Congress passed legislation requiring the president to issue an annual proclamation marking the day, which falls this year on May 1.
While Americans subscribe to different religious beliefs, we are united in our conviction that without true religious freedom, no faith is truly free to worship. This religious freedom was a catalyst for the secular democracy envisioned by our nation’s founders, and it should remain paramount to our country’s future.
It’s debatable whether a nation founded on the constitutional separation of church and state needs a federal government reminder to pray in the first place. Chalk it up to a less pluralistic, less religiously sensitive age. But NDP really started to deteriorate in 1988, when the National Day of Prayer Task Force was created by the Religious Right, hijacking NDP in the name of those who would make their concept of God the only acceptable one.
The Task Force is headed by Shirley Dobson, wife of Focus on the Family chairman and Religious Right leader Dr. James Dobson. Needless to say, they will both speak at this year’s event, the theme of which is “Prayer!
What makes NDP so representative of the Religious Right’s attempt to force the
Nor is the Task Force honest about its standing. Its website claims to be the NDP’s official website. In fact, there is no official NDP website. The Task Force deceptively passes off its private website as a government website, something it is not.
Not withstanding the Religious Right’s dishonest practices, government has no role to play when it comes to the spiritual lives of Americans. That’s the job of religious leaders, as long as they do it through private channels and private funding.
What kind of religious movement needs to employ deception to promote prayer?
Many in the media are telling us today that the influence of the Religious Right has waned. We say the rumors of its death are greatly exaggerated. The Religious Right remains alarmingly strong. Witness its insistence that the candidates prove their religious bona fides – and that their religious experiences and affiliations adhere to a stringent code dictated by the likes of James Dobson.
Religion can be part of the national conversation about our elected officials, but it should never be a weapon for political battle or a shortcut for stereotyping a person’s intentions or abilities. What qualifies candidates for public office is not their religious identity, but rather their commitment to upholding the Constitution.
The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution established the church-state divide as a defining American value. That value is under threat as long as the Religious Right continues to wield undue influence on the political process. When candidates and their supporters use the language of faith to advance partisan political interests, democracy and religion are the losers.
Faith can and does play a positive role in public life. However, it becomes a negative when it subverts the full and honest discussion of the critical issues Americans face today. Don’t expect to hear that full and honest discussion from the podium of the National Day of Prayer — not while the Religious Right maintains its stranglehold on this event.
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