Though President Barack Obama insists that prayer is a private act, he will follow in the footsteps of previous presidents today, signing a proclamation to declare the National Day of Prayer then moving on to other business of the day. At the same time, the president has asked a federal court in Wisconsin to dismiss an attempt to abolish the special occasion.
In a lawsuit filed during the Bush Administration, the Freedom From Religion Foundation claims the day violates the separation of church and state. It asks the judge to declare the law unconstitutional and to order presidents and governors to stop issuing prayer proclamations such as the one expected from Obama today.
But the lawsuit also claims federal and state governments work too closely with the National Day of Prayer Task Force, a conservative Christian group led by Shirley Dobson, the wife of Focus on the Family founder James Dobson. The task force calls for the prayer proclamations, the suit says, and suggests specific Scripture to quote in them.
