Saturday, September 27, 1997

Public prayer is a way of life in America

By LORETTA FULTON Senior Staff Writer

From the football field to city council chambers, public prayers are offered daily, sometimes with little regard for the beliefs of the listeners.

Public prayer is a way of life in America and most people see nothing wrong with that. But increasingly as our nation becomes more pluralistic, care must be taken not to offend people whose faith differs from ours, people in public positions believe.

Abilene Superintendent Charles Hundley is a strict adherent to rules governing school prayer and is a stout defender of the Constitution. Probably nowhere is public prayer more disputed than in the context of public schools.

"The courts have gone round and round about that," Hundley said, from "no prayer" to the current guidelines that prayers at school must be student-led, student-initiated, non-sectarian and non-proselytizing.

"I have no problem with that," Hundley said.

Hundley said student prayers are not censored, but they must be non-sectarian. That sometimes poses a problem in a predominantly conservative Christian setting like Abilene.

Hundley admitted that "probably" some student-led prayers had ended with the words, "In Jesus' name."

HISTORICAL TRADITION

Public prayer is as old as prayer itself and even Jesus warned against making a show of it. In Matthew 6:5 Jesus admonished: "When you pray, go into a room by yourself, shut the door and pray to your Father who is there in the secret place and your Father who sees what is secret will reward you."

But public prayer doesn't necessarily violate that admonition, which was aimed toward people who were calling attention to themselves with their prayers.

"People can pray in public without being ostentatious," said Bill Libby, a retired Army chaplain and part-time professor of religion and history at McMurry University. "I do think that prayer is appropriate at public occasions."

Libby said one purpose for public prayer is to acknowledge a higher power.

"It recognizes the relationship of us as human beings with a higher power," he said. "I think it's important that we have that recognition."

Another purpose served by public prayer is that it "recognizes that public institutions are part of a long historical tradition in the United States between the diety and institutions," Libby said. "We're continuing that tradition."

PRAYER AS A WEAPON

Tradition and culture seem to be the force behind public prayers. Go to another part of the country or to another country and you might not see a civic club luncheon opening with a prayer.

"The real reason is it (public prayer) is a part of the culture of this part of the country," said Dr. Ron Smith, professor of theology, ethics and world religions at Hardin-Simmons University.

At one time, Christian public prayers in Abilene "were not deemed to be any kind of an intrusion on anyone's part," Smith said.

But as we experience more cultural and religious diversity in our community we should ask ourselves, "Is this an undue pressure on those whose religious preferences are different?" Smith said.

Smith said the best way to get over that cultural bias is to visit a part of the world where your religion is the minority rather that the dominant religion.

The person who pushed for prayer in school in Abilene might change his mind if he realized such prayers would be different in another country.

"Chances are those individuals would be less assertive of prayer in school," Smith said.

Smith and others agreed that public prayers are basically innocuous, asking for divine protection from injury at athletic events and wisdom and judgment at political gatherings.

But sometimes they can get out of hand.

"I have seen prayer used as a weapon, which seems to me is a form of profanity," Smith said.

BEING TOLERANT

Dave Bach may not have had prayer used against him as a weapon, but he has been subjected to sectarian prayers that contradict his Jewish beliefs. A retired lieutenant colonel, Bach is a cantor for the local Temple Mizpah. He was born in Europe and lost an aunt and uncle in a concentration camp during World War II.

He attended Hebrew school, later moved to the United States and served in the military in World War II, the Korean War and Vietnam.

As a longtime resident of Abilene, Bach has grown accustomed to being in settings where religious diversity is not a consideration. He attends a Kiwanis Club meeting which begins with a prayer, most often said "In Jesus' name."

But Bach understands this culture and is tolerant.

"This is a highly Christian community with three parochial schools," he said, "so it is just natural for Jesus' name to be mentioned in a community prayer. If I'm to expect tolerance as a Jew, I then must also show tolerance."

he club's president, Bob Christian, is a retired military chaplain who has been exposed to more religious diversity than most people and is sensitive to other people's beliefs.

He has heard Bach sing a Hebrew spiritual at the Kiwanis meeting and then join the others in reciting the Lord's Prayer.

He agrees with Bach that tolerance for each other's beliefs is the key.

"They do their thing and we do our thing," Christian said. "We should probably be more aware of that."