I need help from community members who are Christian or study religion in understanding an aspect of today’s Town of Greece v. Galloway decision by the US Supreme Court "that lawmaking bodies can open their session with a prayer that is often, if not always, explicitly Christian" (i.e. entreating Jesus, the Christ, the Holy Spirit, etc.). The Court’s decision is not what I'm seeking help in understanding. I leave it to other community members to comment in their own diaries on their views regarding the decision.
My questions lie more toward why the need to lead prayer in a government setting rather than just in a private setting or to oneself? That is, why the desire among some Christians to open the legislative session -- or the school day, or a zoning board hearing, or courtroom testimony -- with an entreaty to the almighty? Why not just pray beforehand in the cafeteria over one’s coffee and eggs with other believers, or to oneself at the lawmaker’s office or chamber desk?
The 1st Amendment states
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Regarding freedom of the press, I wouldn’t expect the government to print my religious book; or perhaps a better analogy is I wouldn’t expect a religious paragraph included at the beginning of government publications, from recycling guides to election ballots. Regarding freedom of peaceable assembly, I wouldn’t expect the government to allow my religious group to assemble in the center of a public road. Yet the amendment’s religion clause gets this government blessing for prayer at government events.
Not being Christian or religious, I don’t understand this need to pray at government events. Furthermore, if a major Islamic community like those in suburban Detroit had often, if not always, prayed explicitly Muslim prayers (i.e. beseeching Mohammed, Allah, the Koran, etc) prior to government meetings, there would be cries of Sharia law. Had the opening remarks stated often, if not always, we must help each other because no deity exists to help us, there would be uprising about secularist atheists taking over. How is this different?
This mindset to force prayer in government settings is a mindset that reminds me of other Americans. For example, gun-rights advocates in favor of forever-expanding gun-ownership laws for fear that any slowdown in proliferation laws or any restriction of gun ownership is abrogation of the 2nd Amendment’s right to bear arms. Or shock radio jocks’ mindset pressing their 1st Amendment free speech rights because penis needs to be said on-air. Or the Fox-led mindset that views nearly any government action as crushing Americans’ or states’ rights (like rancher Clive Bundy, many Obamacare opponents, and enforcing IRS rules regarding charities). Or liberals' immediate alarm of religious leaders' actions despite the religiosity of Dr King, President Carter, Archbishop Tutu and Pope Francis.
Why the compulsion of religious people (Christians in this case) to lead formal prayer in government settings?
[UPDATED] Below the fold is a summary of the theories offered by this diary's commenters.
The point of my diary was to ask whether there is some New Testament commandment or Christian doctrine that compels Christians to pray at government events. Something along the lines of, "When performing Caesar's business, thou shalt always seek divine countenance." No commenter has offered one. So lacking any scriptural or dogmatic justification, prayer at government meetings is just something that Christians do. And have been doing. And would feel they'd lost religious freedom if it went away. Interesting.
A Daily Kos commenter pointed me to Matthew 6:5-8 which seems to demand the exact opposite of prayer during government meetings: "5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him."
Several theories were offered in the comment section, copied or paraphrased in the next few paragraphs, as to why some Christians insist on prayers to open government meetings.
The generous theory is it's well-meaning Christians who are carrying out Mark 16:15-16: "15 He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned." Suppose you believed that if you didn't convert your neighbor, she would be dammed forever to Hell! If you believed this, you would never stop trying to teach her about Jesus. You wouldn't care about the 1st Amendment, or tolerance, or even good manners. You would be as desperate and as crazy as a man trying to pull an innocent child from a burning building.
Another theory was to rub it in other people's faces. Forget the fact that they follow few of the teachings of Jesus, they have to make sure everyone else knows that they're 'Christians', therefore 'better than' everyone else.
A similar theory was bullying, an act of intimidating minorities by showing the size and heft of the majority. It's a power trip marking their territory.
There's a validation theory too. The more that their message is accepted, the more they feel validated that maybe they really did choose the right way.
A positive theory is, when people come together for the greater good -- be it a governmental meeting or a funeral--- they seek acknowledgement of the collective desire to serve their fellow humans. This is a good and wholesome feeling that runs through all communities, and an introductory remark to that effect is appropriate and welcomed by most people. If you ask a Christian to give an invocation/blessing for an event-- you will almost always get a shout out to Jesus. They are not usually trying to force their ways upon people. It is just a reflection of how they think about their own blessings/spirituality. The speaker is usually a good and accepting human who wants to affirm the positive without negating people that don't hold the same world view.
Another uncharitable theory is they want to observe their own religion and force everyone else to do so as well.