One of the arguments against government bodies having official prayer time is that civil government officials shouldn't be incorporating the rituals of any one religion into their proceedings. Is this argument flawed, though, because prayer isn't really a ritual? Is saying a traditional, formulaic prayer really not a ritual act and therefore permitted for the civil authorities to endorse?

Brad Gagner of Chatham writes a letter to the editor of the Chatham Daily News in Canada about the use of the Lord's Prayer in the House of Commons:

Mr. Onland, an admitted atheist, claims that our use of such prayer constitutes some sort of "religious ritual." I disagree completely. Reciting the Lord's Prayer is far from a ritual.

It is a prayer that crosses all boundaries, in use by all major Christian faiths.

By definition, a ritual is a set of procedures performed in a specific way. Such would include baptisms, funerals, weddings, etc.

Having a short prayer before our elected officials sit down to business helps them to focus on doing what's right, morally and spiritually. It can hardly be called a "ritual."

First, notice that Brad Gagner's idea of crossing all boundaries is limited to only those boundaries between "major Christian faiths." That isn't really all religious boundaries, but clearly the boundaries between Christianity and non-Christian religions, or even between smaller Christian groups, don't matter and don't need to be crossed. It's acceptable and appropriate for the government to be partisan on behalf of "major" Christian traditions and against both minor Christian groups and non-Christian traditions. How is that not fundamentally theocratic?

Second, I don't think Brad Gagner really understands what ritual is. He's right that a ritual is a set of procedures performed in a specific way — note that ritual is not limited to religion — but where did he get the idea that ritual excludes prayer? Is saying a prayer of grace before meals not a ritual? Are the daily prayers of Muslims not rituals? Particularly important here is that we're talking about the Lord's Prayer, not a prayer that changes every time. Repeating the same prayer in the same way every time makes the event even more ritualistic than having a different prayer that regularly changes.

I also challenge Mr. Onland to read "My Life Without God" (among others). Written by Madalyn Murray O'Hair's son, Bill Murray, a former atheist turned Christian who has publicly declared that the removal of prayers from our schools and places of government was perhaps one of the biggest mistakes the United States Supreme Court ever made.

Mr. Murray goes on to say that the recitation of such prayer after the Pledge of Allegiance (which thanks to the Knights of Columbus also includes the phrase one nation under God) never harmed anyone. As a matter of fact, he said that kids were better behaved, teachers felt safer and the morals and values were a lot stronger back then. You tell me, Mr. Onland, if the generation today has benefitted from the removal of prayer in our public places?

Is there any reason to think that Murray is right in his claim that preventing the government from writing and imposing prayers on students in public schools was a mistake? It's a popular belief among Christian Nationalists and theocrats, but they are never able to provide any substantive reasons or evidence to believe them — and Brad Gagner is certainly no different. I always wonder at the psychology of a person who sincerely believes that the government, not their church, should write prayers, establish times for prayers, create the expectation that these prayers be said by everyone, etc.

I would indeed say that students in public schools today benefit from not having their teachers or administrators — all state employees — tell them what they should pray, when they should pray, how they should pray, to whom they should pray, or even if they should pray. That simply isn't part of the job description of any state employees, much less those in schools. That's the job of priests, pastors, and other religious leaders. If Brad Gagner wants kids to pray more, he should try to get parents to encourage this and to take kids to church rather than try to get the state to take over such tasks.