National Day of Prayer is on, despite court ruling

The United States government should not be in the business of promoting or condemning religion or religious practices (that do not violate law).

 

"National Day of Prayer" is not promoting any one religion over another. I don't see the problem (other than it being unnecessary to have a "National Day" of anything).

 

exactly, it's not Christian day of prayer or Jewish day of prayer. People need to stop being so damn touchy, it's more of a gimmick than anything else

 

The "National Day of Prayer" is promoting religion over non-religion.

Just the same as I wouldn't be cool with the U.S. establishing a "don't pray/be religious" day.

 

It is a day to honor those who believe in a deity regardless of who -- or what -- they believe that deity is. It is in the same vein as Martin Luther King Day. There are still some people who are upset -- I'm thinking of one particular cousin in particular -- that we honor King and not Abe Lincoln (we took Washington and Lincoln's days away for President's Day). How about Black History Month when we don't have an Hispanic History Month or an Asian History Month, etc.

Personally, I'm not opposed to any of these, including a National Day of Prayer. Even if a citizen does not believe in a higher spiritual force, you can still pray to your fellow man for world peace.

 

Martin Luther King day is not a promotion of religion.

 

Prayer is undoubtedly a spiritual/religious practice.

I don't want my government promoting religion/spirituality anymore than I want them promoting *my* agenda on spirituality/religion.

 

It's hardly "promoting" anything, do people pray more on national day of prayer? I doubt it. It's not distinguishing between anything, it shouldn't offend anyone.

 

So why have it?

Or better yet, as I said before, let's have a national day of not praying.

I'd like that, personally. Hope none of ya'll are offended by that.

 

Honoring something is honoring something -- whether a belief system or a person or a nationality or anything else.

 

So let's have a national day of honoring stuff.

 

Get the Congress to create a National Day of Not Praying. I'd be glad to take a day off to honor it or ignore it, depending on how I feel about it that day. No opposition here.

 

As long as they are not distinguishing between religions, why is there a problem with it. What exactly are they promoting by doing this?

 

That was sarcasm, btw.

I don't want the government discouraging people to pray or engage in religious/spiritual activity anymore than I want them to promote it.

 

Not how I remember it... it was always a Protestant thing while I was growing up, though it didn't seem a big deal until Reagan...

"They seem to imply and certainly nourish the erroneous idea of a national religion."

--James Madison

"Fasting and prayer are religious exercises; the enjoining them an act of discipline. Every religious society has a right to determine for itself the time for these exercises, and the objects proper for them, according to their own particular tenets; and right can never be safer than in their hands, where the Constitution has deposited it."

--Thomas Jefferson

 

To quote you...

You don't read much, do you?

 

By the way, the Facebook people who think Obama stopped this are driving me nuts.

 

They are designating a time "to turn to God in prayer and meditation" (wiki). You can meditate, you don't have to pray, get over it. It's amazing that a meaningless event like this can even bother people.

 

I know. Governments are always doing something or not doing something that irritates one segment of the populace or another. Sometimes it is just not worth let it get under your skin, especially if it does not restrict your personal freedom in any way. I'd be campaigning against it right alongside of you if I were being forced to pray that day (and I believe in the power of prayer).