The
61st annual National Day of Prayer was observed on May 3, as it is on the first
Thursday of May every year. The same day was also the 10th annual National Day
of Reason.
As
an alternative to both the Day of Prayer and the Day of Reason, I am proposing
a National Day of Listening.
The
modern law formalizing the annual observance of the Day of Prayer was enacted
in 1952 by a joint resolution of Congress and signed by President Truman.
The
Day of Reason was created in 2003 by the American Humanist Association and the
Washington Area Secular Humanists, partly in response to what they consider to
be the unconstitutionality of the Day of Prayer.
According
to U.S. Code section 119 (1998), “The
President shall issue each year a proclamation designating the first Thursday
in May as a National Day of Prayer on which the people of the United States may
turn to God in prayer and meditation at churches, in groups, and as individuals.”
It
is interesting that this government document says that people in the United
States “may turn to God in prayer,” whereas the promoters of the Day of Prayer
often say that citizens are “asked to” do so.
In
spite of some email rumors again this year that the Day of Prayer was being
canceled by the president, the 2012 National Day of Prayer was officially
proclaimed by President Obama on May 1. (The text of that proclamation can be
found here.)
The
promoters of the Day of Reason say on their website
that their purpose is “to celebrate
reason – a concept all Americans can support – and to raise public awareness
about the persistent threat to religious liberty posed by government intrusion
into the private sphere of worship.”
The
Day of Reason is gaining recognition, partially through the activity of Rep.
Pete Stark (D-Calif., b. 1931), who has officially recognized the Day of Reason
by issuing a proclamation in the U.S. House of Representatives the past two
years. (The text of that proclamation can be found here.)
My
proposed Day of Listening is envisioned as a day that all U.S. citizens could
observe together.
Christians,
Jews, or Muslims, for example, could use the day as a special time to listen to
or for the “voice” of God/YHWH/Allah.
Those
who are atheists could focus on listening to the voice of reason, conscience,
the Great Books, or whatever.
And
perhaps it could, importantly, be a time during which everyone would listen to
each other in order to increase mutual understanding, respect, and appreciation.
Many
have seen the Day of Prayer as a time to emphasize national unity, but the
exclusion of those who are not religious makes for disunity.
The
promoters of the Day of Reason call for unity through reason, but pitting
reason against prayer is also divisive. Many of us people of faith think it is
reasonable to pray.
But
gathering for the purpose of listening should be something everyone could share
in and be unified by.
So,
isn't this a proposal worth considering?
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