The annual National Prayer Breakfast is being held on Thursday. It’s the apotheosis of symbolic attacks on the separation of church and state. I say symbolic because at the end of the day no new law gets passed, no Supreme Court decision comes out, no executive order is issued. Members of Congress will get together in a big marbled meeting room in a Senate office building for prayers and speakers, and probably bagels. But the symbolism is terrible.
There is some good news: for the last two years the event was held in the Capitol itself. Holding it across the street in the Russell Building this year is at least a small symbolic step in the right direction. The Prayer Breakfast is still an unnecessary, inappropriate, Christian-centric attack on the separation of religion and government. President's often attend. If President Trump appears you can assume that he will hijack any spirituality from the event in exchange for the usual off-topic list of grievances and demands for recognition.
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The Prayer Breakfast last year in the Capitol. This year it's across the street.
The actual breakfast on Capitol Hill is only one part of a much larger event that has for decades included a program at a large hotel ballroom across town and lunches, dinners, receptions, and Congressional fundraisers. You could call it the annual meeting of the religion-industrial complex in DC. Members of Congress have long attended these events which then attract lobbyists and foreign officials as well as conservative faith-based organizations and law firms that represent Christian clients in court.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation, one of SCA’s coalition members, has been leading the protest against the Prayer Breakfast for years. FFRF organized this letter to members of Congress, signed by SCA and many other secular and faith-based groups, which details the many problems with the Prayer Breakfast now and in the past. I’ve joined in meetings with some of these groups in the last few weeks as we try to persuade members of Congress not to attend the Prayer Breakfast.
Faith-based allies are vital in this type of effort because hearing that local and national religious leaders encourage members of Congress not to attend gives them cover to make the right decision. And I’ve been able to, for example, tell someone working for Senator Hassan that New Hampshire is the least religious state in the nation so a lot of her constituents won’t mind at all if she doesn’t attend. (Find your state here.) A secular/faith-based coalition works well on issues like the Prayer Breakfast. Every member who decides not to legitimize the event by attending is a win. We will find out on Thursday how many wins we got.
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Lobby Day is next month! Register now to help us lobby to protect the Johnson Amendment and keep church leaders from endorsing political candidates in church. We will have a reception the evening of March 9 and then hit Capitol Hill March 10. Our block of convenient hotel rooms will expire soon so don’t wait. No experience is necessary to go to Congressional offices and give them your ideas about church-state separation. Register here.
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Your advocate,
Scott MacConomy
Director of Policy and Government Affairs
Secular Coalition for America |
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The Secular Coalition for America works every day to defend the separation of religion and government and to fight anti-democratic ideologies like Christian nationalism. Your support for this work is vital.
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