www.Inclusive Prayer Day.orgpeople of many faith traditions calling for an inclusive National Day of Prayer | |
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Sample Letter to Governors (Click for your governor's contact information) Please note: this letter was revised on April 28th. The original letter is here. Dear Governor _____________ As [your title and affiliation or a as resident of your state] I am writing to express my concern about the May 1, National Day of Prayer, and specifically my dismay that you issued a proclamation to the National Day of Prayer Task Force. The Task Force, which is closely connected to Focus on the Family, will use the proclamation you issued at observances on government property at which its coordinators practices systematic religious discrimination. I urge you to issue a statement in advance of the National Day of Prayer strongly denouncing religious discrimination and calling on the National Day of Prayer Task Force to include clergy and/or representatives of many faith traditions in all observances they are holding on government property. The conservative Christian evangelical Task Force, which has exercised increasing control over the National Day of Prayer in recent years, states on its website that only Christian clergy are to participate in its observances. It requires volunteer coordinators to sign a pledge stating: "I commit that NDP activities I serve with will be conducted solely by Christians while those with differing beliefs are welcome to attend." The Task Force coordinators must sign a statement of faith which includes the following language: "I believe that the Holy Bible is the inerrant Word of The Living God. I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the only One by which I can obtain salvation and have an ongoing relationship with God." This clearly aligns a government-sponsored event with a particular Christian denomination, in violation of the basic provisions of the First Amendment to the Constitution, establishing the separation of church and state. The Task Force notes on some of the event listings on its website that "government officials will deliver proclamations..." This use of a government communication to "bless" religious discrimination makes your position on this issue particularly important. I confidently await your statement in the expectation that it will help dissociate our state from religious discrimination and affirm the best values in our pluralist nation. Sincerely yours, "I believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute ... and where no man is denied public office merely because his religion differs from the President who might appoint him or the people who might elect him."
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