In Jamestown, the colony from which we as Southerners derive our American heritage, the Rev. Robert Hunt led the entire colony in prayer twice every day. Not only this, but the first official order of business in the colony was prayer.
In 1774, after the siege of Boston, the First Continental Congress opened its session with prayer. In 1789, President George Washington proclaimed a national day of prayer. Since 1789, there have been 136 national calls for prayer and fasting by an American president. The U.S. House and Senate have opened with prayer for over 200 years. I believe these examples will suffice as evidence that public prayer has never been considered an encroachment on constitutional rights.
In fact, the U.S. Senate Chaplain’s website even draws the distinction between the fable of “Separation of Church and State” (derived from Thomas Jefferson’s letter to a group of Baptists regarding protecting baptist beliefs) and the lack of there being a separation of “God and State.”
Since Mr. Brzorad’s article referenced the Constitution as an excuse for disallowing prayer, take a closer look at the Bill of Rights. First of all, the wording relates that “no law” should be made respecting religion. Does Mr. Brzorad honestly believe that having an uplifting invocation is considered federal law respecting one particular religion?
The First Amendment does not prohibit, but actually protects, the free exercise of religion.
Secondly, no one is forced to participate in the prayer. As a matter of fact, many individuals show utter disrespect for the invocation. By specifically disallowing prayer, Congress would be “prohibiting the free exercise” of religion. To put this in an educational context, Fisher Ames, who suggested the wording for the First Amendment, said in 1789 that the Bible should be the principle text in our schools. It is believed by some that Patrick Henry said that our nation, “was founded not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religion, but on the gospel of Jesus Christ.”
Whether or not someone adheres to Christian beliefs, a study of the founding fathers and their opinions of a supreme god obviates the fact that prayer and Christian values are and always have been a part of American culture. Liberal CNN reports that 50% of Evangelicals believe the U.S. is the best country in the world, compared with only 20% of nonreligious persons. I am proud of my American culture and heritage and grateful for my university’s pregame invocation. Truly, to be against such a traditional aspect of American life as public prayer is censorship.
— Stevan Novakovic, third year international business triple major
