National prayer day raises debate about the event
Religious people usually have strong faith towards their beliefs. One of the most followed religions until today is the Catholicism, which believes that the Pope is the highest figure in the hierarchical order and that Jesus Christ is the world’s savior and messiahs’. Because so many people follow the tradition of praying for their religious figures, in 1952 the United States turned official the establishment of the National Day of Prayer on every first Thursday of May.
Not In Favor Of A Prayer Day
As the American First Amendment allows freedom of faith, beliefs and religion, some congressmen believe that turning into a law a national day that favors a specific religion is unconstitutional. It was in 2008 when the Freedom From Religion Foundation sued the ex-president George W. Bush, and others at the White House, in order to take down the National Day of Prayer law.
The request went on until April 2011, when the challenge was unanimously dismissed by a US appellate court. The group also fought for the ending of Bible instructions in public schools, the dismissal of the chaplaincy program in Indiana Family & Social Services, which hired a pastor on the salary of U$60,000 a year, and other causes that were not successfully accomplished.
Religion Losing Its Place
Even though there are some institutions which go against the National Day of Prayer, the event has certain visions and values that could be interpreted as a more general lesson. An example is “Respect all people, regardless of gender, race, socio-economic status or creed”, which is quoted from Mark 12:31. On the other hand, some make clear allusion to religion itself, such as “Be wise stewards of God’s resources and provision”, from Matthew 25:24-30.
The 2011 edition of the National Day of Prayer is the 60th annual event. Although it is continually organized for so many years, researches show that Americans have been rejecting religion more and more. Christianity is still the predominant belief, but from 1990 to 2009 the percentage of people who call themselves Christians fell 11%.