Video
Twitter
Facebook
RSS Feed
Multiple Prayers at the Inauguration
Government should avoid bringing religion into official business. If the President-to-be-sworn-in wants to acknowledge his personal feelings about the roll of God in the election and his upcoming presidency, then he can offer prayers before he goes to the event, or host a private religious service. But to have an official swearing in with preachers proclaiming and beseeching God's blessing upon this country, or worse, leading the assembled in a prayer, is inappropriate in a secular democracy. It establishes a hegemony of the religious over the non-religious, and more often than not of one or two religious groups over all the other religions.
Take the case at hand. Obama has clearly tried to be inclusive in the religious aspect of his inauguration. While Pastor Rick Warren's invitation drew a lot of attention, he is far from the only religious figure who will be offering prayers.
V. Gene Robinson, the first openly gay Episcopal bishop, will be leading prayers during the Sunday kickoff to the inauguration. On Inauguration day, Obama plans to follow in the footsteps of many incoming presidents who attended services at St. John's Church, an Episcopalian institution known as the "Church of the Presidents," before the swearing-in. Warren will be giving the invocation during the actual swearing in ceremonies, and Rev. Joseph Lowery, a Methodist considered the dean of the civil rights movement, will give the inaugural benediction. At the National Prayer Service, which closes out the ceremonies, Rev. Sharon Watkins, the first woman president of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), another Protestant denomination, will deliver the sermon. She will be joined by Ingrid Mattson, the first woman president of the Islamic Society of North America, and three rabbis -- Reform Rabbi David Saperstein, Conservative Rabbi Jerome Epstein and Orthodox Rabbi Haskel Lookstein -- all of whom will say a prayer at the service. Traditionally, the incoming president invites the Roman Catholic archbishop of Washington, currently the Most Rev. Donald Wuerl, to lead a prayer during the service as well.
While this is an impressive array, it is more glaring for who is left out, than for who is included. For instance, all the faiths represented belong to the Abrahamic tradition. What of the over 1 million Hindus and the 1.5 millions Buddhists who call America home? Even within the Christian tradition, Protestants clearly dominate, and less populous groups such as the Mormons (whose number in America is similar to Jews and Muslims) and Jehovah's Witnesses (well over 2 million sous) are left out completely. Major branches, such as the Lutherans, who are three times as populous as the well-represented Episcopalians, and the Presbyterians, who are twice as large, are shut out as well.
Which doesn't even mention the some 38 million folks who identify as non-religious, or the 1.2 million atheists. (statistics derived from this survey)
There is simply no way to be truly inclusive, unless you parade a long line of religious figures across the stage, at which point it becomes almost farcical, as though we are grabbing at any understanding of God to bolster our nation. Better then, to allow each denomination and religious tradition to offer prayers for the President privately, in their houses of worship.
By
Pamela K. Taylor
|
January 16, 2009; 1:14 PM ET
Save & Share:
Previous: The Option to Pray is Sacred |
Next: A Transitional and Transcendent Moment
Posted by: CCNL | January 20, 2009 3:14 AM
Report Offensive Comment
Oh, gimme a break, CCNL, if *that's* the best you can do after supporting a guy who was notoriously busted in living memory, and then as governor of Texas sealed his own criminal and military record and called it 'executive privilege...'
Seriously.
Give it up.
Posted by: Paganplace | January 19, 2009 9:31 PM
Report Offensive Comment
BO’s record to date:
· addicted to nicotine,
· leader of the Immoral Majority taking over for the Clintons,
· invited a preacher to speak at the inaugural who is historically and theologically flawed and who hates mutual masturbation,
· invited another preacher to speak at the inaugural who is also historically and theologically flawed and who is a mutual masturbator,
· nominated Bill Richardson to be Secretary of Commerce. Richardson withdrew because he is being investigated by a federal grand jury for granting illegal state contracts,
· nominated Timothy Geithner to be Secretary of the Treasury even though Mr. Geithner has filed erroneous tax returns for many years.
Posted by: CCNL | January 18, 2009 6:43 PM
Report Offensive Comment
The incoming Presient swearing by whatever Gods or powers or names he chooses is of far less concern to me than appointing politicized clergy to appear to have some control over the event.
Bush ran on his God and made much ceremony of representing and even directly speaking to his God, but did not swear by such.
Just acted as though those of us who do not swear by his God are lesser citizens.
But ...as much show as he made, did not swear himself.
Bad precedent to put it in the oath, but they've put Bibles in there all along anyway. It's no shame on Obama to include even Warren in the ceremony. Bigoted as he's shown himself to be.
But if Warren takes the occasion to show his bigotry and calls it America, well, it will only shame him, our nation, and what he claims he represents.
Warren wants that podium, he'd best act like it's for America, and not just his megachurch agenda.
Have some rope, Reverend.
Come down to it, this is bad cess for an inauguration, but it's you who demanded it. Try and act like it's for your country.
Not to try and take it from others.
Posted by: Paganplace | January 18, 2009 12:20 AM
Report Offensive Comment
Interesting the of all the religions mentioned, JWs draw the most comments. JWs number more than 1 million, but that count is derived from members who actually participate in the door-to-door ministry. If you counted other denominations by the same strict criteria, I wonder what the number would be? The 2 million number comes from those who attend the annual Memorial of Christ's death.
Posted by: editor9 | January 17, 2009 9:30 AM
Report Offensive Comment
You can't reason with religious people, otherwise there wouldn't BE any religious people.
Posted by: colinnicholas | January 16, 2009 7:54 PM
Report Offensive Comment
And now we introduce you to the new leader of the Immoral Majority i.e. the new President of the United States of America, "Boooo Obama"!!!!
Prayers will not help him or anyone else as a matter of theologial fact:
"Nothing is determined in advance: in
nature there is chance and determinism; in the world of human activity there is possibility of free choices.
Therefore the historical future is not known even to God; otherwise we and our history would be merely a puppet show in which God holds the strings. For God, too, history is an adventure, an open history for and of men and women."
Father Edward Schillebeeckx from his book, Church: The Human Story of God,
Crossroad, 1993, p.91 (softcover)
Posted by: CCNL | January 16, 2009 5:12 PM
Report Offensive Comment
The big difference between Jehovah's Witnesses and Christians is that the Watchtower Society's central core creed proclaims Jesus second coming in October 1914.They sometimes try to obscure this failed prophecy,and say that he came 'invisibly'.Yes,all other Christains are awaiting Jesus return,the JW say he ALREADY came back in 1914 and is only working through their Watchtower society.
Posted by: jehovahinfo | January 16, 2009 2:48 PM
Report Offensive Comment
Jehovah's Witnesses are not 2 million less than 1 milion in USA and they shun all politics.
Posted by: jehovahinfo | January 16, 2009 2:47 PM
Report Offensive Comment
The comments to this entry are closed.
Paganplace, Paganplace, Paganplace,
This is just the start of BOs news reporting. It will be updated every week. We will compare presidential records at the end of four years. To say the least, your high priest is off to a bad start. Might want to consider some Wiccan spells to help him out.