Heresy of Public Prayer
I am cognizant of the arguments pro and con regarding the inclusion of prayer and/or other forms of religious ceremony in non-religious or secular settings (e.g. schools, government assemblies, etc.). There is a legitimate concern that a society must have mechanisms and institutions (even mythologies and rituals), through which to pass on institutional knowledge and accumulated wisdom. No person could hope to achieve perfect knowledge, wisdom, and enlightenment in a single lifetime. Nevertheless, I believe that society is simultaneously becoming increasingly moralistic but fundamentally less moral.
While I am adamant in my belief that any voluntary association of persons can adopt whatever dogma, mores, and rituals that they feel appropriate among themselves (within very broad constraints of public safety), I must admit to a certain pause even qualm or compunction when a formalistic prayer is offered in a required assembly of disparate individuals, including those of different faiths or even nonbelievers.
Despite my own religious background and heritage, I find myself questioning, “Is this the most appropriate time and place?”
That is not to say that individuals cannot and should not be free to bring into such a gathering or assembly the beliefs, opinions, and other defining traits, which may be unique to them, or characteristics that they may share with some segment or group, to which members voluntary belong or with whom adherents choose to associate.
However, those opinions, beliefs, traits, or characteristics cannot be determinative of the collective actions of a group, in which membership and/or participation is mandatory. Conversely, it is inappropriate for a mandatory collective to shun, disregard, or punish any nonconforming individual or group, whose beliefs or actions do not cause proximate, demonstrable, and material harm to some other member, another’s property, or materially interfere with some right of equal or greater dignity.
Conformity, adoption of a particular belief system, and contributions toward increased efficiencies of the collective are beyond the legitimate powers of any group or association, in which membership is mandatory.
Therefore, it is inappropriate to require parties to ignore religious considerations (i.e. a personal moral code) in decision making or to remove of any semblance of religion in the speech, acts, or votes of adherents when acting consistent with their consciences, beliefs, and perceived best interests. In this context, secular humanism is no less a “religion” than Christianity, Judaism, Islam, etc., and no less-than-universally-accepted philosophy or moral code (no matter how widely accepted or sincerely held) should be allowed to trump all others (even if it is deemed by its adherents as being the most reasoned and only objective belief system).
I am generally fine with a moment of introspection and reflection, but I have seldom been a fan of public prayer. In coming together to address great challenges and to act cooperatively, it behooves us to recognize something greater than ourselves, but God (regardless of the definition or creed) doesn’t need to hear someone lead a non-religious assembly in prayer.
Specifically, the omnipresent, omnipotent, and omniscient god of the Abrahamic faiths can read the hearts of individuals! If their hearts are not in the right place before the gathering, a short often perfunctory prayer by some unrelated person is unlikely to lead to a moral epiphany or conversion experience on the spot.
The following passages immediately precede the “Lord’s Prayer” and are taken from Matthew 6 (NIV):
1 “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
2 “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. … 3 [W]hen you give to the needy, do … so that your giving may be in secret. 4 Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
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. … 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. … 8 [F]or your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”
