National Day of Prayer is on, despite court ruling

Im not a negative person. I have everything I could ask for. A wife and son who I love unconditionally, a great family, good friends and most of all, faith.

I have no response to your other sarcastic remarks, do not feel that they warrent a response, really. Some people can try and push religion out of this country all they want, it does not really matter. We live in a country that was founded on religious freedoms. Granted, that also give you the right to have no religion at all, that is the beautiful thing about this country. We have the right to chose, you have the right to partake in whatever you want, so long as it is not unlawful.

So does that mean we need to rid ourselves with the thought of religion all together? Or does it make more sense for the 15-20 percent of the Unaffiliated people of this country to just not celebrate specific holidays with religious backgrounds.

 

It isn't about pushing religion out of the country. No one is going to bar you or ban you from doing anything (praying, celebrating Christmas, etc). And the moment they try to do that, I will be fighting RIGHT ALONG SIDE YOU for your right to practice whatever religion you are being denied.

My response was not sarcastic at all. That is a completely foreseeable scenario, should atheism, or further than that, nihilism take majority hold in this country (or any other religion for that matter).

You feel my post does not warrant a response because you simply refuse to acknowledge the fact that there might ever be a non-Christian majority in this country, or that you might ever be part of a minority. To you, that is silly and incomprehensible. To that I say... poor you.

 

I honestly just do not feel that there is, or will be in my lifetime, a non-religious majority in this country. Now, I say non religious because I am not only talking about Christians but people of faith in general.

Im not ignorant on the subject, from any statistic I see, Unaffiliates have never been more than 20% of the total population of the country, I dont see that number becoming the majority anytime soon.

Can it happen? Maybe one day. But seeing as how the majority of the 2012 speculation comes from Agnostic backgrounds, maybe we will never see that day

 

I'm not sure the establishment of christmas as a federal holiday in 1870 evidences that we're less religion neutral than we were before.

And I'm with you on the sensitive thing...that's why i said i see it as being necessary absent all the sensitivities. I just think you call it a holiday when 80% of the population calls it a holiday. No special treament, just common sense.

 

why is it other countries get called backwards theocracies if they do this but we get the title of a secular free country if we do it?

 

Just because "you don't see it" doesn't justify changing the fundamentals of the government to suit "how you do see it".

I can't explain it any simpler than this:

The rights and rules which keep the government from endorsing/promoting Christianity are the same rights and rules which keep the government from endorsing/promoting Islam, Atheism, Agnosticism, Buddhism, etc.

It protects your right to not be trampled by the majority (OR the minority!), and just because you *are* the majority doesn't mean you can change the rules. That's how this country was made to work regarding religion. Its is a beautiful and fair concept that has kept us strong as a country and an example of freedom for the whole world.

 

Because you're free to not pray if you don't want to?

 

How can it not be? That is logically impossible. Please explain.

 

How about just change the name to "National Day of Reflection" in order to remove the religious connotation?

Some of you are hilarious in this thread. You cry that prayer is about your personal relationship with god and at the same time get mad when someone doesn't like the idea that the federal government has set aside a day to encourage the country to participate. I'd say that makes it about as non-personal as you can get.

It's getting so predictable to see the same responses in these types of threads. "Stop b****ing" "why are you mad" "keep your mouth shut".

 

Just so I'm clear...you're calling pre-1870 the good old days of American secularism that you'd like to return to?

 

i like that. good idea.

 

Nope.

 

ok...help me understand what you're saying then.

 

Don't you know?

Since the majority of the people in this country are Christian, Christian theocracy = good, free. Non-christian theocracy = bad, oppression.

 

Just that establishing a federal day for observance of a Christian holiday is an example of government being pro-religion moreso than them *not* establishing a federal day for the observance of a Christian holiday.

 

come on..that's ridiculous, Dave. i don't have a problem with removing the national day of prayer, entirely. but having some day marked as a national day of prayer...and forcing people to pray or observe religious law are ENTIRELY different things.

 

Works for me.

 

Win post is win.

I'm on board.

 

I'd be with you on this if there had been any federal holidays before 1870, at all. There weren't. This is the government basically paying tribute to what already existed at large. I don't think there was a meaningful shift in how the government treated religion merely because it threw Christmas in as a national holiday.

 

Max, that doesn't make any sense.

Federal holidays pre-existing has no bearing on whether it is a promotion of religion or not.