"national day of prayer" nonsense

I'm not sure where to start in on this thinly-veiled, evangelical-run travesty being foisted on the American people under the guise of generic god-ness. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against religious faith, except when it is shoved down my throat by groups that think they are better than everyone else. I will look past, for the moment, that such an almost-government-sponsored/sanctioned (it was created by an act of congress in the 1952 and given an official calendar home on May 4th in 1988) and taxpayer-funded "holiday" is a direct affront/attack on myself and other "non-believers."

But let's take a closer look at what exactly this "National Day" is. This quote is taken directly from the official website of the "National Day of Prayer" (emphases below are my own):

Mission: "The National Day of Prayer Task Force's mission is to communicate with every individual the need for personal repentance and prayer, mobilizing the Christian community to intercede for America and its leadership in the five centers of power: Church, Education, Family, Government and Media. <http://www.ndptf.org/about/index_5.cfm>

This is from the volunteer application form on that site:

"A volunteer must be an evangelical Christian who has a personal relationship with Christ." <http://www.ndptf.org/profile/profile.cfm?blnCoordinator=1&redirectURL=5&amp;amp;amp;amp;mode=1&function=&entity=0>

One more tidbit from this "official" web site FAQ:

"The Chairman is Mrs. Shirley Dobson...Though Mrs. Dobson is married to Focus on the Family board chairman and founder Dr. James Dobson, the NDP Task Force is a separate organization. It is housed in the Focus on the Family headquarters for convenience" <http://www.ndptf.org/about/index_13.cfm>

Ahhh, so now, rather than it being a generic religious holiday, it's actually designed as a tool for evangelical christians to spread and promote their own religious beliefs. And if you are unfamiliar with James Dobson and Focus on the Family, here is a refresher course on their widespread shenanigans over the years: http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/08/08/073923.php

Moving on, let's see what our current "illustrious Leader" has to say about this national day (emphases are mine):

"Throughout our Nation's history, our citizens have prayed and come together before God to offer Him gratitude, reflect on His will, seek His aid, and respond to His grace. On this National Day of Prayer, we thank God for His many blessings and His care of our country."
-from Bush's May 3, 2006 proclamation (http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/05/20060503-14.html)

That's much clearer. Obviously, you should also believe that god is a man in order to take part...

For a good article discussing the Bush administration's use of religion in the political realm take a look at this article from 2005:
http://www.mediatransparency.org/story.php?storyID=17

In the meantime, maybe I'll send some of my hopes out into the chaos that is this universe for an end to all this "our country was founded on christianity" and "all must repent" bullshit being spoon fed to the American public by our elected representatives...