Source: Chicago Tribune
http://blogs.chicagotribune.com/news_columnists_ezorn/2007/05/day_of_prayer_e.html
Once again this year, proclamations heralding Thursday's National Day of Prayer are gushing in honor of religious tolerance and liberty.
President George W. Bush's proclamation asks "Americans of many faiths and traditions" to "give thanks, each according to his or her own faith, for the freedoms and blessings we have received and for God's continued guidance, comfort, and protection."
Gov. Rod Blagojevich's proclamation fawns over this "celebration of American citizens' freedom of religion ..... which embraces the many diverse communities of faith that have infused our society."
But, in fact, the National Day of Prayer does not embrace diversity. It's now basically a Christian observance, with more than 30,000 events nationwide promoted by the National Day of Prayer Task Force, an organization that requires its volunteer coordinators to agree to a statement that reads in part, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God and the only one by which I can obtain salvation and have an ongoing relationship with God."