Friday Five: Rep. Randy Forbes on the National Day of Prayer Decision

by Kim Trobee, editor


A federal judge ruled this week that the National Day of Prayer is unconstitutional.

As founder and co-chairman of the Congressional Prayer Caucus, Rep. Randy Forbes, R-Va., said the decision deprives us of “the very principles we need to secure our freedom.”

1. A federal court in Wisconsin has ruled the National Day of Prayer unconstitutional. Tell us your thoughts on that decision.

Throughout our nation’s history, prayer and religion have been deeply woven into the foundation of our great democracy. In fact, John Adams correctly noted that while statesmen could plan and speculate about liberty, it was only religion and morality that could establish the principles to secure freedom. The federal judge’s decision to call the National Day of Prayer unconstitutional represents a movement we are seeing across the country of a small minority who want to exclude faith, religion and morality from the marketplace of ideas. In so doing, they may be depriving us of the very principles we need to secure our freedom. Not only does this decision undermine the basic premise of our Declaration of Independence, but it takes an opposite viewpoint of so many great leaders throughout our nation's history. It also seeks to weaken the very foundation upon which our nation was built.

2. The ruling may go all the way to the US Supreme Court. Given the current makeup of the court, do you anticipate a favorable ruling at that level?

While we cannot speculate how the Supreme Court would rule on this case, one thing this particular decision should make clear is how dangerous it is to appoint activist judges. This federal judge has essentially said that the Declaration of Independence – a document that very clearly states that our rights were given by a Creator – is unconstitutional. Is there any question this judge would have declared the Declaration of Independence unconstitutional if it were written today, since it proclaims all our rights come from the Creator? It is regrettable that we would have a federal judge essentially rule against the very premise of the nation's foundational document of freedom. The decision should be a wake-up call to Americans across the country.

3. In his first year in office President Obama signed the proclamation on the day of the event with no ceremony. What message does that send to the nation about religious liberty?

This White House has been slow to take steps to acknowledge this important part of our nation’s history. Unfortunately, this places us on a slippery slope where at the bottom, there is no prayer, there is no acknowledgment of our Creator, and there is no recognition of our nation’s spiritual heritage and its connection to American strength. It is important that we continue to affirm America’s spiritual heritage and reaffirm the ability of all Americans to pray for blessings on their lives and on our nation according to the dictates of their conscience.

4. The National Day of Prayer has been recognized dating back to the 1700s with the Continental Congress. Is there still a place for such a celebration today, or is the court correct that its day has passed?

There is absolutely still a place for the celebration of prayer in America. There is a small segment of people in the country today who want to exclude this major portion of our history of faith, religion and morality that has made America great. But there are millions of Americans who are going to continue to take a strong stand on the issue of preserving America’s religious heritage.

Over the past couple of years, we have seen efforts to cover up references to God on the Washington Monument, remove the mention of God from veterans’ flag-folding ceremonies, take God off our Capitol flag certificates, and erase “In God We Trust” from the Capitol Visitor Center. In every one of these cases, the bipartisan Congressional Prayer Caucus, which I founded and co-chair, has worked to preserve this important part of our history – and it has been successful. I am confident that we can be successful on this issue of protecting the National Day of Prayer in America as well.

5. The Freedom From Religion Foundation and organizations like it have been filing lawsuits like these for years. What should people of faith do to protect their religious liberty?

We have had a lot of victories over the past few years on matters of preserving faith, religion and morality in America. These successes serve as proof that because we believe, we stand, and because we stand, we can make a difference. But we still have work to do. We owe it to those who have gone before us and to our future generations to provide a complete representation of our nation’s heritage. In the past, many people of faith have been content to settle for a defensive strategy, waiting for these anti-God groups to pick their forums and their judges so that they could concentrate their resources to slowly unravel the tapestry of faith that has sustained America. I believe we need a different strategy. I believe we need to get everybody in the fight and reclaim a seat for faith in the marketplace of ideas. That is why we are attempting to establish prayer caucuses in every state legislature in America. Mississippi took that step this week, Virginia will soon follow and other states are on the way.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Learn more about the Congressional Prayer Caucus.  http://forbes.house.gov/PrayerCaucus/

Learn more about the National Day of Prayer.  http://nationaldayofprayer.org/

(NOTE: Referral to Web sites not produced by Focus on the Family Action is for informational purposes only and does not necessarily constitute an endorsement of the sites' content.)

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