Let's talk about the Right to Pray amendment in Missouri. Don’t we Americans already have the right to pray (or not pray)? I just returned from a family vacation to Boston where we walked the Freedom Trail. The guide spent much of his time (in character as a settler) talking about religious persecution and religious freedom. I was reminded of our country’s tenuous beginnings in vivid 3D that only the bricks and gilded domes of Boston can unleash. I grew up in Charlottesville, Virginia, where Thomas Jefferson penned the Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom. Congress looked to this Virginia law, passed in 1786, when drafting the Bill of Rights in 1789. Freedom is more than rhetoric, more than a buzz word, more than an idea. The biggest fallacy in the freedom argument these days is the concept that granting freedom to one means taking it away from another.
I believe in one’s right to pray (or not to pray). It is a common sight where I live to see people bow their heads in the middle of a restaurant to say a prayer before a meal. I’ve worked in an office where prayer was de rigueur before meetings (which carried with it other implications). I grew up with a moment of silence in my school each morning. I keep hearing from Christian friends that they feel persecuted, judged, and under attack. Really? Last I heard, a Christian church wasn’t the site of a hateful bullet riddled attack. I’m not clear who’s under fire here. I haven’t seen any hostility and hate aimed at Christians. Will Amendment 2 in Missouri also protect those who face Mecca to pray? Does this protect those who abstain from prayer? Is this a Christian only amendment? Something reeks of an attack on the separation of church and state here.
I don’t understand this intersection of government and religion. How does government dictating religious freedom create smaller government? Surely there's something clever to add here about old adage “my body is my temple," but I'm not witty enough to come up with it. But I digress ... We already have religious freedom, and our ancestors fought for it. We take it for granted and now interpret religious freedom as Christian only, or worse, “thinking just like me or you’re wrong and should be persecuted.” Missouri’s Amendment 2 is shrouded in something sinister, veiled as religious freedom. Sounds like lawyers will be the real winners here. Missouri should focus instead on boosting its weak economy, one that has shown lackluster improvement compared to the rest of the country in recent years. Simply praying for jobs in a public square isn’t going to be enough.
This post is part of a weekly conversation with our Moms Matter 2012 political bloggers. To see the original question and what the other writers have to say, see Do States Need Right to Pray Amendments?
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Comments 25
notice something that Jesus Himself prayed in the open the 5000
17 But they said, “We have only five small loaves of bread[b] and two fish.” 18 Jesus asked his disciples to bring the food to him, 19 and he told the crowd to sit down on the grass. Jesus took the five loaves and the two fish. He looked up toward heaven and blessed the food. Then he broke the bread and handed it to his disciples, and they gave it to the people.
In the garden the only reason Jesus was alone in the garden was because the disciples fell asleep
Plus when he prayed for the disciples in John 17
What Matthew 6:6 is referring to is private devotion the prayer time when it is just God and us which is the prayer time that we receive strength from God.
So yeah, the ignorance is pretty well vivid on this comment forum.
"If you want your kids to pray in school, send them to a religious school." OR I could just send them to a PUBLIC school, where it's been upheld in the Supreme Court of the United States that they retain their First Amendment freedom of speech and religion. (Tinker v Des Moines School District, if you're interested.)
"If you don't believe in abortion, don't have one." Okay. I won't. I think I'll go pimp out my minor kids, though; money's tight. WHAT? If you don't believe in human trafficking don't participate! Contrary to popular belief (or rhetoric, anyway) I couldn't care less what YOU do with YOUR body. Once you've created SOMEONE ELSE'S body, that's when their well-being becomes a concern. Has NOTHING to do with religion.
"Anyone who can quote bible verses needs to get a life." Wow. Such an educated point of view, such stunning logic, such a tolerant remark. I SO respect your vapid opinion. Off to "get a life" as we speak.