I share the same opinion as K. Reading in her commentary “National Prayer Day??? Can there be such a thing…?” She states that even though she is not personally offended by the establishment of the day, she thinks it is not the government’s role to do it. Besides my belief that the National Prayer Day was first created with the noble intention of peacefully celebrate all forms of religion, it may not be the right thing to do.
Actually, not only is our opinion that government should play no role in religion, but as we studied in class the First Amendment states “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion…” Thus, the creation of a National Prayer Day is unconstitutional. And that leads me to think: if the establishment of a National Prayer Day is not right, then the national holiday of Christmas day should not be right either, since it is a celebration important for determined religions only.
The separation of the state and the church is an idea that was first defended in The United States by Thomas Jefferson. Although it is not directly stated in the Constitution, the First Amendment supports the idea. However, it does not forbid the President of saying “God bless America” after every speech to the nation - act that, for me, seems very contradictory.