James Dobson

Though a National Day of Prayer seems innocuous enough, its become a politicized "holiday" run by extreme rightwing evangelicals. Namely the Dobsons. From Wikipedia:

The National Day of Prayer Task Force is a non-governmental organization created by the National Prayer Committee to help coordinate events on National Day of Prayer. Based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, they work out of facilities from Focus on the Family, a conservative Christian organization. Shirley Dobson (wife of prominent evangelical and Focus on the Family founder, James Dobson) is currently at the head of the Task Force.

The Task Force's charter is tolerant of all religions, although it does not allow members of all religions to participate equally. The Task force's website says in their FAQ section: "Americans of all faiths are encouraged to participate in the [National Day of Prayer] according to their own traditions. However, the [National Day of Prayer] Task Force [only] provides promotional materials and sponsors several events in keeping with the Judeo-Christian tradition". The application for volunteer coordinators with the Task Force lists the following as a primary qualification, "Commitment to Christ. A volunteer must be an evangelical Christian who has a personal relationship with Christ. I acknowledge that I am working for the Lord Jesus Christ and the furthering of His Work on earth and agree to perform my work with the highest standard of Christian faith."

In the National Day of Prayer School Events Guide available on the National Day of Prayer Task Force's website, they argue for the constitutionality and need for a National Day of Prayer, claiming that the "Founding Fathers did not mean for our government to be separated from our God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob".

Issues of Government involvement with religion are often disputed because of the Establishment clause in the First Amendment.

Those opposed to a national day of prayer have established another observance that coincides with the National Day of Prayer called the National Day of Reason.

Making matters worse, James Dobson has been using his radio pulpit as leverage to get Spitzer to agree to observe the holiday. Dobson's Focus on the Family website gloats that Spitzer finally agreed to take part after being "flooded with phone calls from family advocates around the nation."

Of course, Dobson knows, it never hurts to throw in a mention of 9-11 when you're on the ropes. From ChristianPost

"Considering what happened in New York City on 9/11, and the fact that New York has been most often targeted for destruction by terrorists, we believe prayer in that state should be a priority,” Dobson said in his statement Monday, after the proclamation was officially issued. “We are pleased that Gov. Spitzer has now designated Thursday, May 3rd, as a day of prayer.”

As New Yorkers, do we really want to participate in a holiday organized by a group that thinks SpongeBob is gay?