We would like to applaud Biddeford Mayor Joanne Twomey for her refusal to issue a proclamation on the city’s behalf for the National Day of Prayer this year.
Though Twomey personally supports the event, which was recognized locally Thursday by a gathering downtown, she learned from last year’s controversy that it is not the place of a government official to endorse such an overtly religious event.
A lawsuit was threatened by the Freedom From Religion Foundation last year when Twomey did sign a proclamation in support of the event, and she remembered it well this year, citing it as one of the reasons she eschewed an endorsement.
Twomey also cited the ever-important constitutional separation of church and state in her decision, which is the basis for the FFRF’s lawsuit threat.
The National Day of Prayer is a Judeo-Christian event, excluding all other religions and non-believers, and Twomey said she heard from a Biddeford resident who objected to this. Certainly, that person was not alone in their distaste for the city’s endorsement of one religion over another.
The constitutionality of The National Day of Prayer has been challenged at the district court level, where U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb, Western District of Wisconsin, found it unconstitutional for the president to be required to sign a proclamation calling for its observance.
Crabb’s decision is under appeal right now, but it seems clear to us that the constitution prohibits government, whether on the federal, state or local level, from endorsing public religious acts ”“ due to the danger of establishing a state religion or state-preferred religion.
The National Day of Prayer was OK’d in the 1950s, at the height of the anti-Communist, anti-atheism sentiment. It’s the same era as when “under God” was added to the Pledge of Allegiance. Both were efforts to set Americans apart from the “godless Communists,” but now that the Red Scare is well over, it’s time to step back from where the government overstepped its bounds.
We would like to congratulate Mayor Twomey for standing up for the establishment clause of the First Amendment, despite the fact that her personal beliefs lead her to support the National Day of Prayer. As a citizen, Twomey is welcome to believe in and support whatever she wants, but as a public official acting on behalf of the city she has taken the right path in avoiding endorsement of this event.
To do otherwise would result in an offense to all of those who do not share the beliefs of the Evangelical Christians who organize the National Day of Prayer. The city government must represent and work for all of its citizens, from atheists to Jews, Muslims to Christians, Buddhists to Hindus.
It is indeed a dangerous move when the government endorses the faith of the majority and thereby makes those with other beliefs feel like second-class citizens. This year, Biddeford has sent the message that this city does not hold one group of citizens higher than the other.
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Questions? Comments? Contact Managing Editor Kristen Schulze Muszynski by calling 282-1535, Ext. 322, or via e-mail at kristenm@journaltribune.com.
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