Last Thursday was the
National Day of Prayer. US Presidents have designated days of prayer, fasting
and thanksgiving since the very beginning of our republic. Our earlier prayer books had liturgical forms
for these occasions, which were once quite prominent and numerous. The National Day of Prayer, as an annual,
recurring spring event is relatively modern, though. It was resolved by Congress in 1952, in the
dark days of the Korean War, at the urgent prompting of then young and dynamic
evangelist, Billy Graham.
Prayer services for our
nation and its leaders are held across the country on this day, including
sometimes in the White House and on Capitol Hill. I’ve participated in at least one ecumenical
service for the day, and at Evening Prayer last Thursday at Saint Francis, we
included a petition for the President and the Congress, nodding to the
occasion. Our leaders need our prayers,
especially at times of great change.
It’s surely a good thing to gather people of different creeds and
traditions to ask God for wisdom and courage for those who face such daunting
challenges.
But this year’s National
Day of Prayer will be remembered for something else as well. At the White House event marking the
occasion, President Trump announced his decision to sign an executive order directing
the IRS not to enforce the Johnson Amendment, part of the US Tax Code. The amendment is nearly as old as the Day of
Prayer itself, having been authored by then-senator Lyndon B. Johnson in
1954. It also reflects a time when
religion had a more prominent role in American public life. The amendment essentially says that churches,
like other non-profit organizations, risk losing their tax-exempt status if
they endorse political candidates.
By a stroke of the pen,
President Trump has given a wide berth for American religious institutions to
dramatically expand their involvement in the political system. To my mind, that’s a very bad thing.
