National Day of Prayer: Pagan Edition
National Day of Prayer: Pagan Edition
I was reminded of the National Day of Prayer when over the weekend, John Beckett wrote a lovely article entitled Do Pagans Pray? which goes over some of the fundamentals of pagan prayer along with linking to many of his other resources on prayer over the years. I’d like to focus on National Day of Prayer today, though, and throw my small offering onto the pyre for this National Day of Prayer.
The History of National Day of Prayer
National Day of Prayer has past predecessors in calls for prayers by various presidents over the history of the country. The practice was formalized into a law which 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.
36 U.S. Code § 119 - National Day of Prayer - Cornell Law School
This law was passed in 1952 during Korean War. Anti-communism sentiments unnerved the American people and Christianity was seen as one way of distinguishing America from its opponents. Senator Absalom Robertson introduced the bill saying it would help 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.”
The day has been challenged multiple times in the legal system but still stands. The Free From Religion Foundation brought suit but in the end failed to get the law stricken. A circuit court of appeals ruled that “a feeling of alienation cannot suffice as injury” to get a bill repealed since the law does not mandate that citizenry participate and only encourages action.
A Pagan Polytheist Perspective
Reading the letter of the law along with the Senate introduction for the bill makes it clear to me that people like me aren’t meant to participate in this day (at least not without a huge helping of repentance or conversion). The capital g “God” alone in the text places the holiday in the territory of at best big three monotheism at most.
In my other intersections as a queer woman of color living in the South, however, I’ve had to often ignore where my presence is an undesired burr in the side of society. Just because a day is originally intended for one group alone doesn’t mean others can’t also find a home or harbor there if for no other reason than to remind the dominant group that they don’t hold a monopoly on thoughts.
With the difficulties of the last year in particular, prayer and action is needed more than ever by those that hold dear bodily sovereignty and personal freedom. Abortion continues to be restricted and illegal in many states, and trans healthcare is under continued assault.
With a people as widely varied as modern neo-pagans are, consensus is difficult to gather. Most I’ve encountered, however, have cared deeply about personal and religious freedom. With that in mind, I’d like to offer up a prayer to a virtue goddess increasingly close to my heart: Libertas.
Prayer to Libertas
Libertas was a deified virtue amongst the ancient Romans. She was particularly associated with the freedom of slaves, and she is the inspiration for a major symbol in modern America, the Statue of Liberty, standing tall in New York City.
Much more can be written on Libertas. However, I’d like to call on the closest being to a patron goddess the United States has and ask her for blessing on the nation in the year to come. If possible, light a candle as an offering to her today with this prayer.
Libertas, Lady Liberty, oh bright one on the harbor,
We call to you now in our time of need.
Your feet crush chains:
Break the laws that deny us sovereignty over our bodies.
Your torch is the flame of freedom:
Guide our lawmakers toward the light and out of the dark.
Your laurels reach toward the heavens:
Grant us victory over those that would refuse us freedom.
Be with us now as we fight for our rights!
Libertas Invicta!
Additional Resources
A Pagan at the National Day of Prayer by John Beckett
A Book of Pagan Prayer by Ceisiwr Serith, seeing particularly the chapter “Petitionary Prayers and Blessings” under the subheading “Civic Prayers”
The Goddess of Freedom: from Libertas to Lady Liberty by Selena Fox