Photos: National Day of Prayer – Carlisle Sentinel

Interestingly, I don't see religious diversity in any of the pictures. On the 4th of July, America takes a day to celebrate independence from, among other things; the state sponsored Church of England. The National Day of Prayer is a state sponsored Christian religious event invented by Christian groups and approved by the U.S. Congress who ratified into law back in 1952. What would our founders say? The founders were well aware of the dangers of church-state union. They had studied and even seen first-hand the difficulties that church-state partnerships spawned in Europe. During the American colonial period, alliances between religion and government produced oppression and tyranny on our own shores. When Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, for example, he spoke of "unalienable rights endowed by our Creator." He used generic religious language that all religious groups would respond to, not narrowly Christian language traditionally employed by nations with state churches. George Washington's administration even negotiated a treaty with the Muslim rulers of North Africa that stated explicitly that the United States was not founded on Christianity. And we all know ole George could not tell a lie! The pact, known as the Treaty with Tripoli, was approved unanimously by the Senate in 1797, under the administration of John Adams. Article 11 of the treaty states, "The government of the United States is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion.". The United States was not founded to be an officially Christian nation or to espouse any official religion. Our government is to be neutral on religious matters, leaving such decisions to individuals. Is the National Day of Prayer conducted as a Christian event, recognizing the Christian god and Jesus or as an event encompassing all of the diverse religions of the US population? If it is the former, the question is where else do national leaders call out from the halls of power for citizens to unite in a singular religious endeavor? Iran perhaps? Funny also that it will be held on the steps of the taxpayer owned local government courthouse. Apparently in 2017 our courthouse is not that far from the old Church of England!

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Photos: National Day of Prayer - Carlisle Sentinel