National Day of Prayer - White House keeps it private
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Today, May 7th 2009, marks the first National Day of Prayer for the Obama Administration - and it is in stark contrast with that of the previous eight years held during the Bush era.
The National Day of Prayer was introduced in 1952 by President Trueman, but was institutionalized in 1988 by President Regan declaring the official day the first Thursday of May.
For the past eight years President Bush held an "interfaith" service each year in the East Room of the White House, which included guests from the Christian, Catholic, and Jewish faiths (I wonder if he realized that all of these religions stemmed from the same religion).
This year the prayer party is noticeably absent from the White House, "Prayer is something that the president does everyday," said press secretary Robert Gibbs, "I think the president understands, in his own life and in his family's life, the role that prayer plays."
The privately funded National Day of Prayer Task Force is saddened by the lack of participation by the White House while other groups agree that it is a step in the right direction, a step towards separation of church and state - a line which had been blurred by the Bush administration.
Do I agree with what Obama and the White House is doing? Yes, I do. After Prop. 8 passed in California and it was discovered that the Mormon church funded the majority of the campaign, raising over $80 million dollars in the name of discrimination, I realized the huge impact that religion can play in politics. This is what the founding fathers were trying to get away from. Religious persecution, and freedom, doesn't only affect traditional, or better yet, major religions, it also affects those people who have beliefs that lie within the minority. Why were Muslims never invitet to the White House for prayer? Why were Earth Children never called in to preform a Sun Salutation on the White House lawn?
President Obama's decision to keep prayer private was a good one, and I commend him on his step away from politics as usual. And I also know that he probably prays harder than anyone else - he does have the whole nation, if not the world, in his hands.
Today, May 7th 2009, marks the first National Day of Prayer for the Obama Administration - and it is in stark contrast with that of the previous eight years held during the Bush era.
The National Day of Prayer was introduced in 1952 by President Trueman, but was institutionalized in 1988 by President Regan declaring the official day the first Thursday of May.
For the past eight years President Bush held an "interfaith" service each year in the East Room of the White House, which included guests from the Christian, Catholic, and Jewish faiths (I wonder if he realized that all of these religions stemmed from the same religion).
This year the prayer party is noticeably absent from the White House, "Prayer is something that the president does everyday," said press secretary Robert Gibbs, "I think the president understands, in his own life and in his family's life, the role that prayer plays."
The privately funded National Day of Prayer Task Force is saddened by the lack of participation by the White House while other groups agree that it is a step in the right direction, a step towards separation of church and state - a line which had been blurred by the Bush administration.
Do I agree with what Obama and the White House is doing? Yes, I do. After Prop. 8 passed in California and it was discovered that the Mormon church funded the majority of the campaign, raising over $80 million dollars in the name of discrimination, I realized the huge impact that religion can play in politics. This is what the founding fathers were trying to get away from. Religious persecution, and freedom, doesn't only affect traditional, or better yet, major religions, it also affects those people who have beliefs that lie within the minority. Why were Muslims never invitet to the White House for prayer? Why were Earth Children never called in to preform a Sun Salutation on the White House lawn?
President Obama's decision to keep prayer private was a good one, and I commend him on his step away from politics as usual. And I also know that he probably prays harder than anyone else - he does have the whole nation, if not the world, in his hands.
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