Daily Prayer Won't Cure Our Economic Ills (But Voting Might)

The chart above is from the Pew Research Center. It shows the percentage of the population in each country that says they pray every day. Note that the most developed countries, with the exception of the United States, all have very low percentages of daily prayer. Why is the U.S. different?

Pew attributes it to two possible causes -- 1) the lack of government interference in religion where religions enthusiastically compete for new members, and 2) the inequality of our economic system.

All of the other developed countries had a much fairer economic system. Even the poor share in those nation's economic success. That's not true in the United States. The U.S. doesn't just have a vast gap in wealth and income between the rich and poor, it has a vast gap between the rich and everyone else (including the working and middle classes).

Note that all the countries where there are high percentages of daily prayer are countries with a high inequality in their economic systems.

We have this vast inequality because the Republicans have been laying down the economic rules since about 1980, and their belief is in "trickle-down" economics -- the idea that if we just give more to the rich, they will happily share it with everyone else. This policy has been an utter failure (since money in a capitalism doesn't trickle down, but flows upward). They don't care. Their real constituency is the rich, not working and middle class Americans.

It's sad and wrong when the government refuses to institute a fair economic system -- forcing people to pray to some god to get some relief.

It doesn't have to be that way. We had a much fairer system before 1980, and we could have it again. But it won't happen until the Republicans are voted out of power. Praying won't fix our economic ills, but voting might do that.

Too Many Americans Prefer Bible Over The Constitution

These two charts are made from a fairly recent Gallup Poll -- done between August 7th and 10th of a random national sample of 1,032 adults, and has a margin of error of 4 points.

I guess there is some good and some bad in this survey. It is good that the percentage of people who want to toss out the Constitution (at least the First Amendment that guarantees freedom of religion) so they can force their religion on defenseless school children has shrunk over the last 15 years -- from 70% in 1999 to 61% in 2014. That's a fairly significant drop.

But it's bad that slightly more than 6 out of every 10 Americans would be happy to violate the Constitution to use the government to spread their religion. I have no problem with anyone believing in a religion and worshipping as they please -- but they cross the line when they force others to submit to their religious rituals. Children have no choice in whether they attend school or not. It is a requirement -- and when people are required by the government to attend (or when people voluntarily attend any government function) they should not be subjected to the religious rituals of another person.

Why is it so hard for many Americans to understand that religious freedom includes the right to be free from religion -- and would be worthless without that right?

Prayer Was Never Banned In Schools

I'm tired of right-wing fundamentalists spreading this lie. Prayer was never banned in schools -- not in any state or community in this nation. All the Supreme Court said was that government (and public schools are a branch of government) could not favor any religion over any other religion, and could not force students to participate in any religious activity (like prayer). And the Supreme Court didn't invent that. It's part of the First Amendment to the Constitution. But any student (or teacher or school employee) can pray to their hearts content, whether in school or not. That's just the way that religious freedom works.

Obama Proposes First Amendment Violation

I supported (and voted for) Barack Obama in both the 2008 and 2012 elections -- and I still support his presidency. But that does not mean I agree with everything he has done. He has done (or failed to do) some things that I simply cannot agree with.

For instance, five years into his presidency we are still engaged in an unnecessary war in Afghanistan that cannot be won -- and he wants to continue that war for another year and a half (and maybe much longer).

And the prison at Guantanamo Bay is still open, and holding prisoners without either charges or the right to a trial. This is inexcusable, especially since more than a hundred of those prisoners have been declared by the government to be no threat to the United States. President Obama had promised to close this facility, but has not done so.

Then there is the Patriot Act -- that violates the rights of Americans by subjecting them to unreasonable searches without probable cause. Frankly, I see no difference between the Obama administration and the Bush administration on this issue. Both led Americans to believe it would only be used to snoop on foreign nationals linked to terrorist organizations, but that turned out to not be true. We now know it has been used to conduct massive spying on American citizens.

And now it seems the Obama administration is willing to disregard part of the First Amendment to the Constitution -- the part that guarantees all Americans the right to freedom of religion (which includes the right to be free from religion). The administration has submitted a brief to the Supreme Court supporting the idea that city governments should be able to open their meetings with a christian prayer.

For years, the town of Greece (near Rochester, New York) has opened it's council meetings with a christian prayer. Two citizens, one Jewish and the other an atheist, sued the town saying those prayers were "offensive and inappropriate". A federal appeals court sided with them, and ruled that the christian prayers violated the First Amendment ban on government "establishment of religion". This was the appropriate decision, since that government entity is supposed to represent all citizens, not just the christian citizens -- and its endosement of the christian religion did not adequately represent those with other religions or no religion at all.

Unfortunately, the Obama administration doesn't see anything wrong with government endorsing the christian religion. They don't see it as a violation of the First Amendment rights of citizens who are not christians. The administration's brief to the court says that the opening of council meetings with a christian prayer "does not amount to an unconstitutional establishment of religion merely because most prayer-givers are christian and many or most of their prayers contain sectarian references".

They are wrong. When a government organization, any government organization, engages in this type of behavior, it lends its power to a single point of view -- that christianity is officially sanctioned by that powerful government body. And that is just wrong. Our Constitution established a system of sectarian governments to rule over all citizens (even non-christians), and those governments (and their organizations) should stay out of the realm of religion altogether -- to avoid the perception that government favors one religion over all others (or religion over non-religion).

Would the Obama administration, and its right-wing fundamentalist allies in this matter, feel the same if that town council was offering mostly muslim or wiccan prayers? I doubt it. They would consider that to be a violation of freedom of religion. And if that is a violation, then so is the offering of christian prayers to start meetings. Anyone who disagrees with that is supporting the government endorsement of christianity -- and that is unconstitutional.

This stance by the Obama administration is very disappointing. It can only serve to make non-christians feel that they are not fairly and equally represented by their government.

No One Has Banned Prayer In School

The fundamentalists can't seem to get it through their heads that no one, not the Supreme Court or anyone else, has banned prayer in school. In fact, I don't think it would be possible to ban prayer by students or teachers (since a quiet prayer can be offered at any time). What has been stopped by the courts is a school official leading an organized prayer (since that would be an unconstitutional establishment of religion by government -- which a public school district is) or the forcing of any student to participate in that organized prayer (which would be an unconstitutional violation of the right to religious freedom).

It can't be repeated enough that no one has banned prayer in public schools. Anyone can pray to their hearts content. The only thing that has been banned is violating the United States Constitution -- and that's something we should all be thankful for, since the rights in that Constitution should be sacrosanct.

Prayer Vs. Deeds

The results of good deeds can be seen, but the results of prayer come with many excuses for why they were not answered. Instead of relying on a god, whether he exists or not, isn't it a human responsibility to improve our city, state, country, and world? Aren't results more important than excuses?

Prayer In Schools Was Never Banned

I'm getting sick and tired of hearing religious fundamentalists whining about prayer being banned in schools, or god being kicked out of our schools. Why? Because that's an outrageous lie! Prayer was not banned in schools. Any child or group of children can pray in school. The only thing that was banned is forcing all children (including children who's parents follow a different religion, or no religion at all) to participate in a government led christian prayer ritual.

And there's a very good reason for that. It's called the First Amendment guarantee of religious freedom. This guarantee means that my children or grandchildren cannot be forced to participate in your religious rituals, and further guarantees that the government will not favor any religion above all others -- which a teacher or school official (i.e., government employee) leading the school, or a class, in a christian prayer would entail.

Any child that wants to pray at school may still do so under current law, and many still do (both individually and at gatherings like "Prayer at the Flagpole"). And I (as an atheist) have no problem with that at all. After all, the Constitution gives them that right. But that is not good enough for many christian fundamentalists. They seem to think that their religious rights have been violated because they can no longer force others to participate in a christian ritual like prayer (which is really an anti-constitutional view).

Not being able to force others to participate in your religious rituals is not a violation of your religious freedom. It simply gives everyone the same right -- the right to make their own decision on what religious rituals they will or will not participate. And shouldn't that be what we all want in a free country?

Perry's Prayer Rally - Epic Fail ?

Rick Perry thought he had come up with a brilliant way of propelling himself into the GOP presidential race. He would appeal to his right-wing fundamentalist base by holding a huge prayer rally in Houston's Reliant Stadium. The pictures of him waving to many thousands of adoring christian teabaggers would surely show that he was the chosen one. And to show his leadership, he invited all the governor's of the other 49 states.

I don't think he expected the Democratic governors to show up, but just hosting the GOP governors would show he was a mover and shaker in the party -- a force to be reckoned with. But the governor has been given a rude awakening. It seems he's not nearly as smart as he thinks he is. Maybe he forgot he had only scored an unspectacular 2.5 average in college (those are his college pics above).

Perry has not only driven the Texas economy into the dumper (regardless of what his GOP cohorts claim), but it now looks like his huge prayer rally will be a dud. Reliant Stadium holds about 71,500 people, but it doesn't look like he'll be able to even fill a quarter of it. Only about 8,000 people have registered for the event. That stadium is going to look like a ghost town.

And it gets even worse. Not a single governor from any of the other 49 states is going to be at the prayer (and fasting) rally. For a while it looked like Brownback of Kansas and Jindal of Louisiana might come, but both of them have now found something else (anything else!) they would rather be doing. Scott of Florida is sending a videotape, but won't be coming anywhere near the nearly empty stadium. I think most of the GOP governors took a look at the vicious right-wing fundamentalist speakers Perry had lined up and decided they could do without being tarred by that brush.

Several groups (like the American Civil Liberties Union, the Texas Freedom Network, and the People for the American Way) have organized efforts to combat the prayer rally, but they needn't have bothered. It looks like Perry didn't need any help screwing this up. The governor is even trying to back out of it himself -- saying his part in it was not important, and he might just be an "usher".

Perry won't be able to avoid going to this ridiculous event since it was his idea to hold it, but it wouldn't surprise me if he didn't limit his participation to a short welcoming speech -- and then duck out early. His grandiose scheme is turning into a humiliating failure.

Instead of propelling him into the GOP race for the presidential nomination, this silly rally might just have national Republicans wondering if he really has what it takes to lead the party into the next election.

10 Excuses For The Failure Of Prayer

One thing that nearly all christians (and people in other religions) believe in is the power of prayer. It doesn't seem to matter that most of these prayers go unanswered (or can be explained by coincidence or the actions of humans). Religious people are happy to blame the actions of humans on god, or to make excuses for why that god didn't answer their prayer.

Over at the blog No Godz my friend Mark has come up with the top 10 reasons (excuses) why god didn't answer prayer. There may be others, but these 10 are heard all the time. Here they are:

1. “God doesn’t work like that”.

2. “It must have not been God’s Will”.

3. “You didn’t have enough faith”.

4. “God used the doctor as his tool to cure you”.

5. “You should not test God”.

6. “God has performed all kinds of miracles. Only faith allows you to see them”.

7. “Starving and diseased children are the result of man’s interference and evil”.

8. “God has a plan”.

9. “God works in mysterious ways”.

10.“Prayer is an act of faith”.

Pray For Me ? - Why ?

I am an atheist as regular readers of this blog will know. I don't begrudge others their religion if that is their choice, but it does bother me when they try to force their religion on others -- especially through government. And I think one of the silliest things I hear from christians is the phrase "I'll pray for you" after they learn of my atheism. I hope they don't think I take that as altruistic. Personally, I just think it's demented.

A friend over at the excellent blog NO GODZ has written a post about this silly phenomenon, and I hope he doesn't mind if I repost it here. I thought it was pretty good. Here is what Mark had to say:

When conversing to a Christian about religious beliefs, I have found out many times that when I have disclosed my atheism, they immediately feel the need to announce their wishes for me to reconsider or change.


Many people of the Christian faith seem to always find a reason to pray for atheists. They always seem to find it necessary to tell others that they are praying for them. Some find it necessary to tell you that they are performing this ritual for you, using the all too familiar term, “I’ll pray for you”. Some even ignore our requests that they don’t.


Why do many Christians feel the need to tell us that they are praying for us? Will the magic not happen if the prayer is undisclosed?  In the New Testament, Christ himself gave this instruction of prayer, but yet many choose to ignore this.

Matthew 6:5-6:
And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 6) But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

What is their motive behind their disclosure of praying for you? I’ve found that the term, “I’ll pray for you” when used has different meanings and is usually a substitute or alternative for:

• “I wish you were like me” (when confronted with opposing views of Christianity).
• “I’m saying this out of habit” (because you can never pray too much).
• “I’m better than you and you need to conform to my interpretation of a deity” (when debating a non-Christian).
• “I’m doing this because I don’t understand science” (when praying for the sick).
• “You’re going to Hell” (the less eloquent term).

If a Christian cannot muster enough faith for an actual healing of their own illnesses, then how is their prayer for my conversion even possible?

Judge Did NOT Say "Day Of Prayer" Was Unconstitutional

I'm getting a little sick of christians acting like they are an oppressed people. They are by far the majority religion in this country, and nearly every elected or appointed official in both political parties is a practicing christian. There is simply no way they could be oppressed.

The latest so-called proof of this non-existent "oppression" springs from a total misunderstanding of a ruling by a federal judge, and sadly even many of our media outlets are either lying about the ruling, or are too stupid to understand it. Just read the following paragraph from a Fort Worth Star-Telegram story:

"Three weeks after Crabb ruled the National Day of Prayer unconstitutional, thousands of people from various faiths clasped their hands, bowed their heads and prayed in churches, parks and public buildings across the nation."

The problem with the reporter's statement is this -- it's just NOT TRUE! Federal Judge Barbara Crabb did not rule prayer was unconstitutional, and did not even rule that a National Day of Prayer was unconstitutional. The judge knows that the Constitution guarantees people the right to freely practice any religion they want, and that includes the right to pray -- either alone or in groups.

Christians not only have the right to pray, but they also have the right to organize and participate in a National Day of Prayer. Hell, they have the right to make every day a National Day of Prayer if they want to. The judge never said they couldn't.

The judge issued a narrow ruling that simply said it was a violation of the Constitution for the GOVERNMENT to establish a National Day of Prayer. For the government to establish such a day violates the religious freedom amendment to the Constitution. A private citizen, a church, a group of churches or any other organizations can establish or call for a day of prayer and it will be legal and constitutional, but the government cannot do so.

So stop acting like you have been victimized. If you want to pray, then pray. If you want to organize a day (or week, or month, or year) of prayer, then do so. No judge has denied you that right. Just leave the government out of it, because the government exercises power over everyone -- not just christians.

And please, next time make sure you understand a ruling before you go off half-cocked and claim it does something it was never meant to do.

Fundie Says Prayer Will Cure Down's Syndrome

Just when I start thinking fundamentalist christians can't surprise me anymore with their silly beliefs, they come up with something new and even more ridiculous than before. I wouldn't have believed this if I hadn't seen the web site myself, so I have broken one of my rules and I'm linking to a fundamentalist site -- I figure my readers will also want to see this for themselves.

This site is a Wordpress blog, but after scanning it I can't find the name (or even a pseudonym) of the person who wrote it. I guess whoever it is would be too embarrassed to actually claim responsibility for the blog. The name of the blog is Pray4Trig, and the anonymous author of it believes prayer can cure Down's Syndrome.

To prove this extraordinary power ascribed to prayer, the blog is asking christians and churches to get together in prayer on April 18, 2010 and pray that Sarah Palin's son, Trig Palin (pictured with Sarah Palin), will be miraculously cured of Down's Syndrome. That date is Trig's birthday, and the anonymous blogger thinks the prayer cure would be a good birthday present for him.

The fundie blogger also said this would give enough time to register enough churches and christians to make the prayer successful, although he/she didn't say just how many people it would take to make this miracle occur. There was also no mention on the blog about whether Sarah Palin had been informed of the impending miracle or given her consent.

According to the author, the only reason prayer has never done things like regrow an amputated arm or cure Down's Syndrome is because, "Too many people lack faith." The author seems to believe that god will grant the miracle only if a lot of people with "genuine faith" pray for it. This infers that it would be useless for ordinary christians, who may have doubts, to pray.

I guess on April 19, after it is known there was no miraculous cure, this blogger will simply say that not enough people of "genuine faith" prayed to cure young Trig. Pathetic!

Prayer Is NOT A Medical Procedure

Those who read this blog regularly will know that I am in favor of substantial health care reform -- especially the creation of an option for public health insurance. But that does not mean I am in favor of shelling out taxpayer funds (or forcing private insurance companies to pay) for any treatment that has not been scientifically proven to have medical benefit.

It will be expensive enough to pay to cover every American with decent health insurance that will pay for medically necessary treatment prescribed by a doctor. To pile on top of that, paying for esoteric and unproven treatments such as Reiki therapy, prayer intercession, aroma therapy, crystal therapy, homeopathy, chiropractors and many other "woo-woo" therapies, is just plain silly and will push up the price of insurance and medical care without any corresponding patient benefit.

But believe it or not, we have United States senators who believe public and private insurance should have to pay for this kind of "treatment". Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) has inserted into the senate health care bill a provision that would "require insurers to consider covering Christian Science prayer treatments as medical expenses."

But I'm not blaming Republicans for this ridiculous nonsense. No, this is bipartisan foolishness. The provision is also supported by Senator John Kerry (D-Massachusetts). It should be noted that the headquarters of the Christian Scientist sect is located in Massachusetts. Could he be trading insurance dollars for votes?

Frankly, I don't care whether Christian Scientists, or anyone else, want to rely solely on prayer instead of medicine (as long as they don't cause the deaths of children by refusing to get medically necessary treatment). An adult has the right to deny medical treatment and pray to whatever god that like for healing.

They can pray to whatever invisible sky fairy they want to, just as long as they don't ask you or I to pay for it with tax dollars or higher insurance premiums because the insurance company was required to pay for it. Prayer is a religious exercise, and is NOT a medical treatment.

Furthermore, because of this country's religious freedom, it one religious sect is getting paid for praying for the sick then other religions have the same right to be paid for praying for the sick. Pretty soon we'd be paying for voodoo rituals, Wiccan spells and witch doctor visits -- because our government cannot favor any one religion over another.

This is a slippery slope that will result in the wasting of taxpayer dollars and raising of premiums for private insurance companies -- and this is totally unnecessary. Let your Congress men and women know that insurance, whether public or private, should not be forced to pay for prayer -- or any other treatment that has not been scientifically proven to be an effective treatment.

In America, people have the right to any religious belief (or no religious belief) they wish, but they do not have the right to ask other Americans to pay for those beliefs.

Baptist Preacher Prays For Obama's Death

At my rather advanced age, I've heard a lot of right-wing hate speech -- so much that most of it doesn't shock me anymore. But I have to admit that it still surprises me when I hear it from an ordained christian minister. Consider the case of Wiley Drake.

Mr. Drake is an ordained Southern Baptist minister, and currently serves as the pastor of First Southern Baptist Church in Buena Park, California. He is also a past officer of the Southern Baptist Convention, having served for a year as second vice-president of the SBC.

So this is no outlaw preacher or self-appointed religious nutjob like Fred Phelps. Drake is a respected member of the Southern Baptist community. That makes his statements on the Alan Colmes radio show all the more shocking.

After telling Colmes he had prayed for the death of Dr. Tiller in Wichita, Colmes asked Drake if he had prayed for anyone else's death. Drake answered, "The usurper that is in the White House is one, B. Hussein Obama."

To make sure he heard him right, Colmes asked, "So you're praying for the death of the president of the United States?" Drake answered, "Yes."

Colmes then asked if he was afraid he might be put on a Secret Service or FBI watch list, and Drake replied, "What I am doing is repeating what God is saying, and if that puts me on somebody's list, then I'll just have to be on their list."

Colmes asked once more, "You would like for the president of the United States to die?"

Drake answered, "If he does not turn to God and does not turn his life around, I am asking God to enforce imprecatory prayers that are throughout the Scripture that would cause him death, that's correct."

That doesn't sound very christian to me. Even worse is that he puts his own hatred back on his God. He says he is just doing what God told him to do. I have to wonder, is God unhappy because Barack Obama is a Democrat, or because he is African-American?

The truth is that the Obama presidency is not anti-Biblical, and if there is a God, I doubt he cares who is the President of the United States (or any other country). This sick man is not praying for Obama's death because of any christian principles or beliefs. He is just acting on the disappointments and insecurities contained in his own tiny black heart.

What do you think? Is this man really a christian?

Company Won't Allow Muslims To Pray

There's a religious issue brewing in the Texas Panhandle. At the Swift meat packing plant in Cactus, at least 54 employees walked off the job. The employees are all Muslims of African descent. They are claiming that the company will not allow them to pray.

A good Muslim must pray five times a day. That is a requirement for them, not an option. But those who have walked off the job say the company will not allow them to pray at 4:00pm and again at sunset. These second shift workers consider their religion very important.

I must admit the company's attitude mystifies me. The work is not easy and the company is continually searching for good employees. Why make such a stand against letting these Muslims pray? I have worked with Muslims in the past, and these prayers really don't take that long.

It's not like they are asking to be slackers. They are only asking for a few minutes to pray as their religion requires. The company must allow breaks anyway, so why not allow these Muslims to break at 4:00pm and again at sunset? This would be a good opportunity for the company to build good will and develop loyalty from the employees.

I hope this is just a case of the company misunderstanding the religious devotion required of Muslims, and not a case of religious discrimination. But if a way is not found to work this out, it could easily wind up in a federal court.

A "Prayer" From James Randi

I submit the following "prayer" from skeptic James Randi in response to President Bush's prayer to a "loving God", regarding the massacre of 32 innocent people on the campus of Virginia Tech. This response can be found at Randi's own website, dedicated to exposing fraud and foolishness.

I agree with every word Mr. Randi has written.

To God the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and Earth, God of Abraham, Jehovah, whoever or whatever:

God, You in Your omniscience – You know everything, past present and future – and also in Your omnipotence – You can do anything You want to do – why, 23 years ago, did You create this deluded man Seung-Hui Cho, then allow him to buy the guns, go to the Virginia Tech campus, and slaughter all those students and faculty? That took long-term planning, determined intention, and careful nurturing of Cho’s delusions and hatred, by You. God, what’s “loving” about that? Our President may labor under the delusion that such an act somehow shows Your “loving” nature, but in my admitted ignorance, I cannot see that. Help me to understand.

Or was this – forgive my suggestion, God – yet another failure of Your Intelligent Design, along with tobacco, cancer, spina bifida, and Crohn’s Disease?

A better plan, God – in my humble opinion – would have been to prevent that horrendous, senseless, slaughter, and then You would have had no reason to have to “comfort” those parents, friends, fellow-students and so many others who will now have to do without the delight of knowing these beautiful people. You see, God, You could have saved the lives – and futures – not only of those 32, but of Mr. Cho, as well! This deranged young man, angry and desperate, reacted to a society he felt was opposing him. He murdered 32 persons because he felt he had to, in answer to impulses he could not control. But You, Almighty God, Creator of Heaven and Earth, etc., etc., could have intervened – “omnipotent,” remember? – and there would be far less sorrow in our nation today.

Why did You do this to us? The figures show us that most of us believe in You, believe in Your loving nature, and appeal to You for Your comfort even after You have decided to allow tragedies such as this to happen; doesn’t that count? Personally, I don’t believe in You, but don’t the numbers count?

God, I’m sure that Dr. Richard Roberts, president of Oral Roberts University, speaks for You when he says, “…there’s no doubt that this act was Satanic in origin." He calls Cho's recently-revealed writings, “just words,” which he says are “one of Satan’s tools to bring about Man’s destruction.” Now, this fits the Christian idea of demonic possession, which says that human existence is predicated on the narrative of Man’s Fall from Grace in the Garden of Eden, and that wherever there is good, Satan is trying to destroy it.

Please, God, try to get Your act together, or there may be fewer people out there willing to appease a jealous, callous, vindictive, cruel, obviously insecure deity such as Yourself. And what would You do then?

God only knows…