Will Rick Perry’s prayers be answered?
What do you think?
Arena Asks: Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s Aug. 6 day of prayer and fasting is generating significant heat nationwide. Advocates for the separation of church and state say an elected leader should not be leading what looks to be, in effect, an evangelical Christian revival. Is there something inappropriate about the day of prayer and fasting sponsored by Perry, a possible 2012 Republican presidential candidate? Or is it an innocuous affirmation of the role of faith in public life?
My Answer: Now that we have two presidential hopefuls who claim to have been called by God, we are sure to see an escalating number of these theatrical events aimed at giving God a chance to show who is more chosen than the other.
Of course, should Perry’s day of prayer and fasting bring an end to the Texas drought, or at least a sighting of Jesus in a breakfast taco, then Michelle Bachmann would surely either withdraw from the race or at a minimum signal her willingness to be Perry’s VP. After all, female submissiveness is a key part of her religion’s theology.
In answer to the question, such government-sponsored piety is Constitutionally wrong (except perhaps in the Roberts Court which seems prepared to throw out most civil rights) and functionally useless in solving the big problems we face. If a Jewish, Muslim, or Buddhist politician were to sponsor such an event, wouldn’t you hear howls of protest?
GLORIA FELDT is the New York Times bestselling author of several books including No Excuses: 9 Ways Women Can Change How We Think About Power, a sought-after speaker and frequent contributor to major news outlets, and the Co-Founder and President of Take The Lead. People has called her “the voice of experience,” and among the many honors she has been given, Vanity Fair called her one of America’s “Top 200 Women Legends, Leaders, and Trailblazers,” and Glamour chose her as a “Woman of the Year.”
As co-founder and president of Take The Lead, a leading women’s leadership nonprofit, her mission is to achieve gender parity by 2025 through innovative training programs, workshops, a groundbreaking 50 Women Can Change The World immersive, online courses, a free weekly newsletter, and events including a monthly Virtual Happy Hour program and a Take The Lead Day symposium that reached over 400,000 women globally in 2017.
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Greta Shoop Well, he IS asking us to fast during Ramadan. I could have fun “misinterpreting” that 😉
Lisa Reed McKinney Only if they are honest prayers and are not offenses to the Holy Spirit. So — no.
Carla DeSantis Nice of him to schedule prayer day on Shabbat. Oy!