Jefferson on Prayer by Governors James A. Davids J.D. Duke University School of Law President-Elect, Christian Legal Society Assistant Dean, Robertson School of Government, Regent University November 16 , 2007

As Atlanta continues to become more like Phoenix than Tallahassee, Governor Sonny Perdue and various Georgia lawmakers assembled on the capitol steps in Atlanta and urged citizens throughout the nation to pray for rain on Georgia. The Associated Press covered this story earlier this week by first implying that politicians in the South (the “Bible Belt”) are idiosyncratic in their urging of divine help, and then stating that these requests for help are sometimes “politically expedient.” After questioning (if not insulting) the sincerity of Governor Perdue and the assembled Georgia lawmakers, the AP then quoted the organizer of a secular group intending to protest the event who claimed that the Governor could pray privately and individually for rain, but could not pray for precipitation as a public official. The AP reporter commented that “public expressions of faith are often discouraged as a breach of the separation of church and state.”

To its credit, the AP article provided its readers with a short history lesson on presidential prayer proclamations. The reporter noted that George Washington was the first President to declare a day for thanksgiving and prayer, and that Harry Truman signed into law a congressional act establishing a National Day of Prayer. The reporter omitted the fact that during times of crisis, Presidents have repeatedly urged citizens to pray for divine intervention and protection (Abraham Lincoln was a prime example), and that each year since Harry Truman’s administration the President in office has urged citizens to pray for government officials.

The AP reporter wrote that the Presidents were not unanimous in their urging for citizen prayers, and stated that Jefferson was an “exception” in that he “resisted calls for a federal day of prayer.” Although technically true, the implication is that Jefferson opposed calls for public prayer, presumably because of state-church concerns.
This implication is false. Jefferson had no problem with governmental proclamations for citizen prayers, as long as these proclamations were issued on a state rather than a national level. That is, Jefferson on federalism grounds thought that Presidents should not request prayers by the public, but he had no problem with state governors asking for prayer.

Indicative of Jefferson’s position on this issue was legislative action taken by the Virginia legislature in 1785, soon after Virginia and the other states won their independence from England. In that year, the Virginia legislature considered 126 bills as it continued to replace English law with its own. Five of these bills considered church-state issues, and one of these was Jefferson’s Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom. The remaining four concerned church property issues, observance of the Sabbath (criminalizing work on Sunday), marriage, and most importantly for present purposes, a Thanksgiving proclamation. Jefferson was the primary draftsman for all five of these bills, which James Madison shepherded through the legislature while Jefferson served as minister in France.
Even more telling of Jefferson’s position on public proclamations for prayer is the fact that in 1779, then Governor Jefferson signed a proclamation declaring December 9, 1779 as a day of “Thanksgiving and Prayer.” Jefferson’s proclamation was based on a proclamation issued by the Second Continental Congress, which urged citizens to repent of their sins and “amend our lives according to [God’s] Holy Word” so that God “will continue that wonderful protection which hath led us through the paths of danger and distress.” Seeking God’s grace and mercy during a calamitous Revolutionary War is certainly comparable to seeking God’s grace for rain to fall on Georgia.

The request of public officials for prayer is not “out of the main stream” as implied in the AP article, it is directly in the middle of the “main stream.” Congress in 1952 unanimously passed a resolution declaring an annual, national day of prayer, and each year since then, the president has signed a proclamation urging all Americans to stop their normal activities and pray for the nation and its leaders. According to the National Day of Prayer website, last year all 50 state governors signed similar proclamations.
Gov. Perdue’s call for prayer asking God to relieve the drought conditions in Georgia is in the time-honored tradition of America’s political leaders. Jefferson would be proud.