Forget separation of church and state - the Tennessee legislature wants to bring them together for a month of prayer and fasting.
Tennessee designated July 2024 as "a time of prayer and fasting", by enacting joint resolution 803, and called upon citizens to seek God's blessings and mercy for the state. The resolution, entitled "A RESOLUTION to seek God’s hand of mercy healing on Tennessee”, cites serious societal ills facing Tennessee and the nation, including violence, human trafficking, drug addiction, and alleged government corruption. It quotes Founding Fathers and Scripture in appealing for divine intervention and forgiveness to address these challenges.
Is It Constitutional?
While undoubtedly well-intentioned, the resolution raises important constitutional questions about the separation of church and state. The First Amendment prohibits government from establishing or favoring any religion. By explicitly endorsing Christian prayer, quoting Bible verses, and ascribing a divine role in human affairs, does this resolution cross the line into state promotion of a particular faith? Even if optional, some argue an official government call to prayer still violates the spirit of non-establishment.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) urged the Tennessee Governor to rescind the proclamation. “The forgiveness that ought to be begged is for adopting a religious and sectarian proclamation that no public official, under our secular and entirely godless Constitution, has the authority to make,” FFRF Co-Presidents Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor write. “Gov. Lee, you were not elected pastor in chief. As a government official, you are tasked with upholding the nation’s Constitution — including the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause.”
Rep. Monty Fritts, the author of the resolution, of course disagrees. A website established to coordinate efforts for the month of prayer and fasting explains his motivation. "There was no legislation that could be offered and no financial incentives offered by the Legislature to ultimately help with all the issues in our State. After doing research as to how many of our founding fathers called upon calling out [sic] to the most high God for help because there was no where else to turn."
How Christian is Tennessee?
It's no secret Tennessee is a deeply religious state. According to a 2014 Religious Landscape Study by Pew Research Center (the most recent such report), 81% of adults in Tennessee identify as Christian, significantly higher than the national average of 70%. Evangelical Protestants make up the largest chunk at 52%, followed by Mainline Protestants at 13% and historically Black Protestants at 8%. Only 14% of Tennesseans are unaffiliated with any religion, compared to 22% nationwide.
But the religious landscape is slowly shifting. The Pew study found the percentage of Christians in Tennessee dipped from 85% in 2007 to 81% in 2014, while the religiously unaffiliated grew from 9% to 14% over the same period. Non-Christian faiths like Islam and Hinduism have also seen modest growth, now representing about 3% of the population. As the state becomes more diverse, calls for state-sponsored prayer risk alienating a growing minority.
Can Prayer Help Solve Tennessee's Problems?
Those in favor of the resolution say the goal is to bring people together to reflect on how they can help fight addiction, violence, and other social ills. For the religious, prayer can provide strength and inspiration to make a real difference. But skeptics say if Tennessee lawmakers really want to solve these problems, they should spend more time on things like funding rehab programs, passing tougher gun laws, and cracking down on human trafficking - not just praying about them.
So is this resolution a well-meaning effort to unite the community and seek wisdom from above? Or a misguided, unconstitutional mixing of religion and politics that ignores the real work needed to help struggling Tennesseans? The answer may depend on your own beliefs.
One thing's for sure - issues like violence, addiction and trafficking are deadly serious. They need more than thoughts and prayers to solve. Hopefully this resolution, for all the debate it's sparking, gets people focused on taking real action to heal Tennessee's wounds - with or without heavenly help.
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