By Catholic League president Bill Donohue
President Biden raised more than eyebrows when he omitted
any mention of God in his National Day of Prayer proclamation. What he did was
unprecedented: No previous president has failed to mention God since the day it
was created in 1952 by a joint resolution of Congress and signed into law by
President Harry Truman.
When asked about Biden's omission, Rev. Franklin Graham was
generous in his remarks. "It was probably a staff person that wrote it and
maybe not even ran it by him—because I don't think Joe Biden would have
approved that one." Maybe.
Even if Graham is right, that doesn't settle the issue. Why
would a speechwriter nix God from a presidential speech about prayer?
It is no secret that the Democratic Party is home to
secularists. Those who have no religious affiliation, as well as agnostics and
atheists, have laid anchor in the Party, many of whom are openly hostile to
religion and people of faith. It is not a leap to conclude that this mentality
colored Biden's prepared remarks.
Last summer, Secular Democrats of America was welcomed at
the Democratic National Convention. They were given three panels to voice their
concerns, and they did not hold back in lambasting Christian conservatives. At
another session, held on August 18, 2020, hundreds of secular Democrats tuned
in to an event hosted by this group. It featured congressmen, state lawmakers
and activists: they focused on what they said were constitutional threats made
by some Christians.
Last fall, Humanists for Biden was established, an offshoot
of Secular Democrats of America. It was headed by a professor who calls himself
a chaplain, even though he is an atheist and the term chaplain refers to a
clergyman.
In December, Secular Democrats of America submitted a
28-page report to Joe Biden and Kamala Harris outlining their animus against
religious liberty. They essentially want to secularize religious institutions,
gutting most religious exemptions. Their demonization of white Christians was
perhaps the most odious aspect of the report.
Militant secularists have long hated the National Day of
Prayer. In 2003, the American Humanist Association established a National Day
of Reason; even the secular-minded media ignore it. Cribbing off the National
Day of Prayer, which is celebrated on the first Thursday in May, the atheists
chose the same day to mark their event. Looks like it didn't accomplish too
much this year—there were no events. "There is no specific location where
this holiday is celebrated," it said.
In 2010, Freedom From Religion Foundation, a
Christian-bashing atheist organization, argued in court that the National Day
of Prayer was unconstitutional. It won in a district court but lost on appeal.
A federal appeals court ruled that the organization lacked standing, adding
that it’s "feeling of alienation" was not sufficient grounds to file
suit. "Hurt feelings differ from legal injury," the court said.
The National Day of Prayer Task Force organizes this annual
event; it is privately funded. Those who are averse to prayer are free to
ignore it. But those who choose to participate are expected to pay tribute to
God, which is why what President Biden did was inexplicable at best
and objectionable at worst.
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