Four Years Without Photo Ops of Presidential Prayers Would be Refreshing


President Trump held another of his photo ops with Paula White and the preacher guys praying with him. They didn't gather in a circle as one might expect, they lined up to make a good photo. Jesus did the same thing to get the Last Supply painting. While Bill Clinton and maybe many others were photographed surrounded by preachers and it's tempting to overstate the importance, the lesson about establishing a national religion without passing a law continues.

Countless comments on this blog and all over U. S. politics shout that unless Congress and the President adopt a specific religion the separation of government and religion suggested in the Constitution are being followed. The Constitution says our government may not establish a state religion. But what if the government created the impression there is an approved state religion but never adopts it as law? What if the public is led to believe one religion is government approved and courts do what they have been know to do, decide everyone thinks the law says this so to keep order we're going to proceed as if Congress and the President adopted one religion as the state religion.

Does not a picture of a President praying with a specific set of religious leaders suggest that religion could well be the one each of us is supposed to follow?  Add to the picture countless statements by Presidents such as W. Bush and Trump about the virtues of Jesus and Christianity and the complete picture is there.

Following Trump's presidency, four years of a President like Biden who did not publish such pictures nor make public statements like "We were founded as a Christian nation" would be wonderful. Every few presidents we need a break from the ever-present promotion of Christianity as "our religion."

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