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Vernon Countians respond to prayer ruling
A federal district judge ruled April 15 that a law passed by Congress in 1952 authorizing the President to designate a national day of prayer is unconstitutional. Judge Barbara Crabb ruled on the case, filed by the Freedom From Religion Foundation. Congress established the day in 1952 and in 1988 set the first Thursday in May as the day for presidents to issue proclamations asking Americans to pray.
In her ruling Crabb drew attention to a previous order of hers which made a distinction between the law passed by Congress and presidential prayer proclamations themselves.
"In a previous order, I concluded that plaintiffs have standing to challenge Section 119, but not to challenge presidential prayer proclamations generally," Crabb wrote.
Congressman Todd Akin, Missouri 2nd Congressional District, said the decision was an attempt to subvert our national heritage.
"This decision flies in the face of reason as well as our nation's traditions and is yet another attempt by an activist court to subvert our national spiritual heritage," Akin said. "Examples of calls to national prayer started with the Continental Congress and have been done approximately 135 times by President's past.
"It is a tragedy that such rancor has been fomented by some that are adamant in their contempt for bringing Americans of various faiths together during a day of prayer. I am hopeful that the higher courts will exercise greater wisdom and overturn this petty attack against a wonderful shared spiritual heritage of prayer."
Pastor Bill Cox, First Baptist Church, said he thought the ruling was wrong and hoped it would be reversed on appeal.
"I think it is a case -- that it's an example, that this is not an appropriate decision," Cox said. "I don't think it violates the separation of church and state, a national day of prayer. I suspect that this federal court will be overruled, the national day of prayer will be allowed to be part of our national calendar."
Gray Clark, Church of Israel, also thought the ruling should be overturned, on historical as well as legal grounds.
"I think it's wrong. There's a terrific history in America to pray. We have chaplains in Congress and the military," Clark said. "It shows that people are in positions of judgeships that have no understanding of the Bible and certainly have no understanding or concern for the historicity of the nation. It's just another step from removing ourselves from the historicity of this country. I believe it will be overturned, I certainly hope so."
There have been 57 Presidential Proclamations of a National Day of Prayer from 1952 to 2009. Every President since 1952 has signed a National Day of Prayer proclamation. There have been 135 national calls to prayer, humiliation, fasting and thanksgiving by the President of the United States from the ratification of the Constitution in 1789 to 2009.