Wis. Judge Strikes Down National Day of Prayer

(April 16) -- With roots dating back to a 1952 rally when the Rev. Billy Graham envisioned "thousands coming to Jesus Christ," a National Day of Prayer has been proclaimed by every president since Harry Truman.

Now, a Wisconsin federal judge has struck down the observance as unconstitutional. U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb, however, is staying her injunction until any appeals are completed, meaning it probably won't affect next month's planned observance.

President Barack Obama, in fact, has indicated he will again proclaim the first Thursday in May as a National Day of Prayer. The group that filed the lawsuit challenging the tradition is hoping he'll change his mind.

"Here's a character test for the president," Annie Laurie Gaylor, co-president of the Madison, Wis.-based Freedom From Religion Foundation, told AOL News today. "Barack Obama is a legal scholar. He had taken an oath to uphold the Constitution. He no longer has to issue this proclamation. This is where the measure of somebody's character is going to be made."

Crabb decided in favor of Gaylor's organization, ruling that the federal law providing for the prayer day proclamation violates the First Amendment.

"The same law that prohibits the government from declaring a National Day of Prayer also prohibits it from declaring a National Day of Blasphemy," Crabb wrote in her ruling, released Thursday.

White House spokesman Matthew Lehrich said in an e-mail to several news organizations that Obama would make his 2010 proclamation as planned.

"We have reviewed the court's decision, and it does not prevent the president from issuing a proclamation," he wrote to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

The National Day of Prayer Task Force and lawyers with the Alliance Defense Fund urged Obama to appeal the decision.

"It's important to remember this about the National Day of Prayer: It's America's heritage, and this day belongs to Americans. The court should not have struck down this statute," Alliance Defense Fund senior counsel Joel Oster said in a written statement.

Jordan Sekulow of the American Center for Law and Justice, which filed an amicus brief in the case on behalf of 31 members of Congress, said in a written statement he was confident the decision would be overturned on appeal.

"It is unfortunate that this court failed to understand that a day set aside for prayer for the country represents a time-honored tradition that embraces the First Amendment, not violates it," said Sekulow, an attorney with the public interest law firm founded by evangelist Pat Robertson.

"This decision runs counter to well-established legal precedent, and we're confident that this flawed decision ultimately will be overturned," Sekulow wrote.

The court decision traces the history of the day to a 1952 rally in Washington by Graham, during which he called for a national day of prayer and envisioned a "great spiritual awakening" for the capital, with "thousands coming to Jesus Christ."

The law was introduced in the House the next day, then later in the Senate as a measure against the "corrosive forces of communism which seek simultaneously to destroy our democratic way of life and the faith in an Almighty God on which it is based."

All presidents since 1952 have issued proclamations designating the National Day of Prayer each year. President Ronald Reagan signed an amended law in 1988, establishing the date as the first Thursday in May.

The law reads, "The President shall issue each year a proclamation designating the first Thursday in May as a National Day of Prayer on which the people of the United States may turn to God in prayer and meditation at churches, in groups and as individuals."

Soon after Thursday's court ruling, the White House said, "As he did last year, President Obama intends to recognize a National Day of Prayer."

The Freedom From Religion Foundation's Gaylor called that message "disappointing."

"I don't think it bodes well," she told AOL News. "There are certainly many religious people who agree with us. Government has no business telling people to pray, or to set aside a day to pray. The clear implication is, if you are a true American, you believe in God and you pray."